otoGP is about as high-visibility as top-flight motorcycle racing gets. This is the series that serious riders worldwide look to in their search for what’s new, what’s hot and what’s winning. And last year it was Bridgestone doing the winning when it came to the tires. Series Champion Casey Stoner used Bridgestone tires to get the most from his Ducati all season long, and neither failed him. Ever. “To win in this class,” he would say, “means you have to be able to get into the corners fast and then get out of them and back on the gas just as fast.” His Ducati and those Bridgestones under it let him do just that. Over and over again.
     Casey Stoner wasn’t alone on those Championship winning Bridgestones, either. Bridgestone is the exclusive tire supplier to the factory Ducati, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Gresini Honda and D’Antin Ducati MotoGP teams. John Hopkins, Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Chris Vermeulen, Randy De Puniet and Alex Hofmann were all on Bridgestones, too, right along with Casey Stoner. And whether it’s a Ducati like Stoner’s or a Suzuki, or a Honda or a Kawasaki those Bridgestones proved themselves to be top performers in every application.
     All that’s starting all over again this year. Not only are Casey Stoner and all those other riders and teams back on Bridgestones for 2008, Valentino Rossi has made the switch to Bridgestone, as well. That’s right. Rossi saw what worked on that Ducati last year - and on every other bike mounting Bridgestone tires - and wanted nothing less than that same winning grip for his Yamaha for the new season. Now he has it. All of this will be on display twice in the U.S. this season, too. There are a pair of MotoGP events scheduled here this season and chances are great that Bridgestone, as always, will play a major role in them both.
     Sport riders worldwide haven’t let any of this slip by. It’s plainly evident who’s winning on the tracks worldwide, and what they’re winning with. It’s no secret that many top-running MotoGP riders and teams choose Bridgestone. All those sport riders can get that Bridgestone winning edge themselves, too. They can have it right here and right now. The Battlax BT-002 Racing Street, for example, is a Z-speed rated sport tire that performs on the street just like those full-blown race tires perform on the track. The BT-002 Racing Street is an ideal street/track day tire. It delivers the same sort of balance, stability, feedback, grip, anti-shimmy properties and shock absorption that those Bridgestone’s race-level tires give Casey Stoner and all the others who rely on them. The BT-002 lets a sportbike and its rider perform at their maximum potential. BT-002 Racing Street is DOT approved and it’s a direct result of Bridgestone’s years of MotoGP experience. These tires even come out of the same molds as that DOT race rubber. The BT-002s Racing Streets with their Silica Rich Dual Tread Construction (DTC), the optimized tread patterns and the specially designed and race-inspired carcasses are available in all the popular sportbike sizes, 120/70ZR17, 180/55ZR17, 190/50ZR17 and 190/55ZR17. Parts Unlimited has them all right now.
     And later this season Parts Unlimited will have even more. Bridgestone’s Battlax BT-016 has just been released in Europe. It was seen for the first time at the EICMA in Milan. It’s slated for release in this country soon. The Battlax BT-016 is Bridgestone’s most advanced Hypersport street tire yet (see the related story). This super-street tire has been designed to give maximum sport performance to those riders who are passionate about their sportbikes and uncompromising when it comes to sportbike performance. The BT-016s even offer the ultra-exciting grip performance of Bridgestone’s MotoGP-developed multi-layer compound technology. These tires are something special. They’ll be available in a few months time and you’ll see them here first.
     MotoGP 2007 was dominated by Bridgestone and 2008 could well be a repeat. Sport riders can dominate the street with Bridgestone, too, starting with the Battlax BT-002 Racing Street tires that are ready for them right now - and with tires like the new BT-016s that are on the way. You won’t have to do much selling here, either. Serious sportbike riders already know all about Bridgestone. All you have to do is keep them in stock.
     And Bridgestone is the winner’s choice for the dirt, too. Not surprisingly, the company making all those winning MotoGP tires and the street tires that mimic them, DOT tires offering real racetrack performance, duplicate all of that for the Off Road, Motocross and Supercross riders. Top factory riders like James Stewart, Chad Reed and Ricky Carmichael all race and win with Bridgestone. Over the past 10 years Bridgestone has won more AMA Pro Motocross and Supercross Championships than all other tire manufactures combined. In AMA Supercross and Motocross, Bridgestone is the exclusive tire supplier to the factory Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha teams, plus the Pro-circuit/Kawasaki team. All those winners choose Bridgestone because Bridgestone tires come ready for anything; soft, intermediate or hard-terrain. The dominance of Bridgestone is unequaled in Off Road competition. In 2007 every AMA National Supercross and Motocross Championship came with Bridgestone tires. All those tires were developed with the assistance and input of all those winners, too. Pro-Circuit, Factory Kawasaki, Factory Yamaha, Factory Suzuki and Randy Hawkin’s Am-Pro Yamaha GNCC Team all help to make Bridgestone tires everything they can be and everything anyone needs to win. Bridgestone tires are race proven, championship-winning products. Last year Bridgestone took all 5 AMA Supercross / Motocross Championships.
     And just like in MotoGP, the 2008 Bridgestone season is off to the same winning start. Chad Reed won the Opening Round of 2008, then James Stewart took win number two at Phoenix. Bridgestone’s picking up right where it left off; all throughout last year’s Supercross and Motocross it was Bridgestone all the way and it’s happening again. These tires are dominant. As often as not it’s Bridgestone that’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd on the podium. Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael - they all race on Bridgestone. And of course everything learned on the track filters straight through to the Bridgestone tires you can sell. And just as with those sportbike tires these off-road Bridgestones won’t be a hard sell, either.      Everybody recognizes a winner and Bridgestone tires are the proven winners. The track results speak for themselves.
     For an all-around MX tire you won’t find much that’s better than the newest Bridgestones, too, the M403 and M404 Intermediates. Developed with all that input from those top Supercross and Motocross factory race teams the Intermediate Terrain M403 and M404 Bridgestones have been fine-tuned to perform just about anywhere.      Everything about these tires - their casings, the construction, the compounding, the tread patterns - has been reworked and re-engineered to increase the durability and significantly broaden the range of conditions and track surfaces these tires can win on. The M403/M404 Bridgestones have been optimized for traction, durability, clean-out and control and they work at any lean angle. These are MX tires that can’t help but win. They’re Bridgestones.
     With all that success on the tracks, on the trails and in the arenas nationwide -worldwide – it’s only natural for savvy enthusiasts to choose Bridgestone.      Sportbikes, cruisers, dirt bikes and dual-sport machines; riders on all those bikes want what wins and what works. Bridgestone does both. From top-flight MotoGP, to Supercross, Motocross, even GNCC, winning riders and race teams the world over choose Bridgestone. It’s been that way for decades. There’s a full lineup of tires here to sell, too, every one of them employing cutting-edge design technologies and state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. All those Bridgestone tires are readily available right through Parts Unlimited, and there are more - like that BT-016 - coming soon.      Your Parts Unlimited Sales rep can set you up with everything you need.

he Battlax BT-016 is a tire designed for maximum sport performance. This is the street tire for riders who are passionate about their sportbikes. Bridgestone has combined its top MotoGP technologies, including SACT (Straight And Cornering Technology), a multi-compound technology, to produce a sportbike tire that truly delivers a level of grip and performance in braking, cornering and acceleration that’s heretofore been experienced only by those MotoGP racing stars.
     The BT-016 front tire incorporates a new 3-Layer Compound (3LC). There’s a center compound for straight-line/straight-up handling and longer wear life and that’s flanked by a completely different shoulder compound to deliver high grip and a strong contact while leaned over through the corners. The BT-016 rear features Bridgestone’s new 5-Layer Compound (5LC) technology, used here for the very first time on a street tire. Once again the center compound provides stability and higher mileage, and again that’s flanked by shoulder compounds to transfer the power to the road with strong traction. The BT-016 rear also features edge compounds for a super-strong side grip and a massive contact feeling at deep lean angles. The BT-016 will hold a line feeling almost like that bike is riding on a rail.
     Front and rear construction of this newest Bridgestone is based on Bridgestone’s proven HTSPC platform (High Tensile Super Penetrated Cord) with a steel MSB (Mono Spiral Belt). This one-piece construction technique enhances controllability and cornering while also providing great shock absorption for a smooth, confidence inspiring ride. The BT-016’s increased compression stiffness produces a uniform contact patch and stability at high speeds, too. The tread patterns are special, too.      The front features S-shaped cross diagonal grooves in the center tread area for light and nimble handling, excellent feedback and great wet performance. The rear pattern uses L-shaped grooves without cross grooves in the center to deliver strong traction with less noise-especially noticeable in the cruising speed ranges. Both tires-front and rear-have plenty of grip with a low 6-percent void ratio in the tread. There’s lots of rubber on the road here. Compared to the BT-014 it will progressively replace, the new BT-016 provides total handling improvement in all riding modes-with noticeably better contact feel, feedback, stability and grip as well as longer wear life and lower noise levels.
     OE sportbike manufacturers are already impressed with the new Bridgestone BT-016 Hypersport Tire. With all those construction technologies, the multi-compounding and the unique and performance-perfect tread patterns the Battlax BT-016 has been approved as original equipment for some leading 2008 models, including the Kawasaki ZX-10R and fitment for Suzuki’s GSX-R600 and 750.
     Racing improves the breed. Bridgestone has already proven that with the Battlax BT-021 and BT-002 Racing Street, a pair of sport radials built for the serious sport tourers and sport riders. And Bridgestone has just done it again with the brand-new and soon-to-be-released Battlax BT-016. Here’s a street tire that, quite literally, comes with features and performance straight from the track.