Bridgestone in the Endurance World Championship
From Japan to Le Mans
With all the top teams choosing their tyres for 2025, Bridgestone is the leading manufacturer in the Endurance World Championship. This year, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team switched to Bridgestone tyres in their bid for the world endurance title. Tyres play a major role in the battle for that title. Their lifespan will be no more than an hour of active riding, but they require a lot of attention before, during and after the race. Gripping Stories traveled to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Crash fest
The race starts in wet conditions and is one big crash fest in the first few hours. This EWC race will end with more than 200 crashes! And of course, according to the riders, it’s always the tyres that are to blame. Tyres have the most ungrateful job, because every crash is invariably the fault of the tyre. But Bridgestone is doing well. After one hour, the first five places are in the hands of all the Bridgestone teams. Couldn’t be better.
Mistake
The Yoshimura Suzuki riders take the lead, but then they make a mistake and the BMW team takes the top spot. Rider Sylvain Guintoli decides to ride a double stint because the track is gradually drying up and he knows the conditions best, but in his second stint he too makes a mistake. Losing five laps, the team drops to 26th place.
First slicks
About three hours after the start, the weather gets better and a dry line is gradually beginning to form. Within the BMW team, it is decided together with the engineer that the next pit stop will be made using slicks. For the first time in this race. The tension rises. Literally. The tyre pressure is checked one last time.
Pay attention
Markus Reiterberger comes in after a flawless stint in which he made up a lot of places. In just five seconds, the rain tyre is thrown off the BMW and the slick is put on. Reiterberger tells his South African colleague Steven Odendaal where to watch out. A few seconds later, the tank is full and Steve jumps into the saddle.
Wide range
It is cool and damp. But the ‘super soft’ compound means that the Bridgestone slicks can handle it. Another thing the teams have noticed this year is that the Bridgestones work well in a very wide range of conditions. The competition is more sensitive to changing weather factors such as temperature or humidity and therefore has to fit a specific tyre for specific conditions more often. The Bridgestones hold up better across a wider spectrum. This is something that naturally translates very well to the tyres you use on your motorcycle. Versatility is an invaluable advantage in both everyday life and endurance racing. In these increasingly exciting races, every pit stop is half a lap or a whole lap that you can hardly make up on the track. And on public roads, any unexpected change in grip level or conditions is something that tyres with a wide performance range naturally make safer.
Lean angle
On the track, there is a nice, dry line. It is now up to Steve to take advantage of it. He has to maintain his speed, because if the temperature drops too low, even the Bridgestone slicks will be useless. But Steve is doing well. Using the maximum lean angle is not yet necessary, but he is accelerating, braking, and steering hard enough to keep the front and rear tyres at the right temperature.
Calling card
The BMW team is four to five seconds per lap faster than all the other teams. The Bridgestones are really showing what they’re made of! And the engineers made the right decision. Overtaking slower riders is difficult when there is only a narrow, dry strip, but Steve is doing an excellent job. He regularly clocks times of 1.43, while everyone else can barely get below 1m50. He’s flying!
Info
We can’t share any exact information about temperatures, tyre pressure, and lean angles here, as that is confidential information between Bridgestone and the team. Even the other Bridgestone teams are not allowed to share that information with each other. The fact that BMW returns to the pits after 32 laps – and then only because it has run out of fuel – in fourth place, behind YART-YAMAHA, Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, and F.C.C. TSR Honda France (all also on Bridgestones) perhaps says more about the performance of the tyres than any other information.
And afterwards?
When the tyres are changed in a flash during the pit stop, the team immediately rolls away the used slicks for a quick check. Temperature, tyre pressure, and a visual check of the tread. Nothing to complain about. It is Steve who receives applause from the team, but the tyre played a major role in this success.
DNA
BMW Motorrad World Endurance ultimately finished fourth after a race that was also very dramatic for them, with three crashes. YART-Yamaha won the race, with another Bridgestone team, Webike Trickstar Kawasaki, finishing second on the podium.
Coming next:
In Part 2, we take a closer look at the role of the tyre in endurance racing — from its production and preparation to performance on track and post-race analysis.
