MotoGP news

Bridgestone encouraged by tyre performance

Ducati Corse's Casey Stoner has taken third place in qualifying at Phillip Island this afternoon which will see the Australian take a front row seat for his home grand prix which looks set to be a thriller after today's competitive practice sessions. It is Stoner's ninth front row start of his championship-winning season and the 60th front row start for a rider on Bridgestone tyres in the tyre manufacturer's comparatively short five-year MotoGP history. 

Tohru Ubukata, motorcycle race manager at Bridgestone commented, "The performance of our qualifying tyres is certainly much better than last year in terms of competitiveness and durability over the entire lap. It is, however, clear that we still have a slight deficit to our rivals when it comes to qualifying performance in general, something that we have seen throughout this season. Nevertheless, five riders on our tyres have been able to secure all-important top ten results this afternoon which will set them up well for tomorrow's race and I am more encouraged by the potential of our race tyres." 

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