Ubukata reviews Grand Prix de France in depth

The fourth race of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship was a complicated affair, with success for the riders coming down to how they handled the wet-drying conditions and when to swap from wet tyres to slicks.

2009年 MotoGP的第四場比賽情況很艱難，成功的車手是由於能夠掌握賽道乾溼各半的情況，還有抓到進站煥光頭胎的時機。

With no intermediate rubber provided by single tyre suppliers Bridgestone this year it was crucial that their wet and slick tyres stood up to the job in the wet patches and dry lines which the riders encountered.

今年的單一輪胎供應商普利司通沒有提供中性胎，車手必須使用雨胎和光頭胎來應付賽道上部分的濕地和乾的車線。

Given that only World Champion Valentino Rossi and rookie Mika Kallio suffered crashes in those difficult conditions - Rossi having perhaps changed onto slicks too early and Kallio clashing with Nicky Hayden and then hitting a wet patch unexpectedly - the Bridgestone tyres appear to have performed well again.

考慮到在這樣的情況下，只有世界冠軍Rossi 和Mika Kallio 發生事故 - Rossi 可能是太早換光頭胎了，而Kallio 在與Hayden 的拼鬥中無預警的騎到溼的線上 - 這次普利司通輪胎可以說又是表現優異。

Looking back over round four Tohru Ubukata, Bridgestone’s Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Manager answers the key questions…

回顧這個第四場比賽，我們訪問到Tohru Ubukata -普利司通的摩托車賽事用胎研發主管，他回答的幾個關鍵問題...

Bridgestone expected both dry and wet running in Le Mans, but how were these conditions prepared for?
“We knew from past experience that the weather in Le Mans is unpredictable, but also that it is usually cool, especially when it rains. Because of this we brought the soft and medium compound slicks and the soft wets, just like we used in Motegi where the riders gained experience of wet running on these tyres. We also saw some big temperature differences during the sessions this weekend, but I am happy that with one tyre we have been able to cover the whole range.”

普利司通預期在Le Mans 會是半乾溼的情況，你們會如何準備應付這樣的情況?

"從以往的經驗，我們知道這時在 Le Mans 的天氣都是很難預測的，通常也很冷，特別是下雨的時候。因為這樣我們準備了軟性和中性配方的胎，和從Motegi比賽後車手回饋雨戰資料後再改進的軟性雨胎。這週末的不同時段賽道上的溫度差異也很大，但是我很高興我們可以用一種輪胎應付全部的情況"。

“For example, the track temperature during Friday’s free practice was 20 degrees Celsius, but by the end of Saturday’s qualifying session it was 30 degrees, yet riders still could use the same compound with no problems. This is a big temperature window for just one compound of tyre so I am happy with this.”

"例如在週五的自由練習時間裡，賽道溫度是攝氏20度，但是在週六的排位賽結束時，賽道溫度是30度，不過車手還是可以使用相同的輪胎配方。對單一配方輪胎來說是很大的工作溫度範圍，對此我感到很高興"。

What are your thoughts after the first wet start to a race this season?
“I can say that I am very happy with the performance and durability of the Bridgestone wet tyres after this weekend. The conditions were not perfect, neither completely wet nor completely dry. At the start of the MotoGP race, the rain had stopped and although the track was wet, it was drying quickly. We saw that the wet tyre got faster and faster with each lap, even though the track was drying. Normally, you might expect a drying track to be slower for wets, but ours performed well with good consistency and durability, and actually got faster right up until the point that the track was dry enough for slick tyres to be quicker on lap nine.”

對這季首次在濕地上開跑你們有什麼感想?

"這個週末對於普利司通雨胎的品質和耐久性我非常滿意，情況不是很完美，賽道沒有很濕也不完全乾，在GP開跑後雨已經停了，而賽道也很快就乾了。即使賽道正在變乾，我們還是看到使用雨胎的賽車速度一圈比一圈還快。正常來說，你會預期使用雨胎的車在乾地上會變慢，但是我們表現出一樣的品質和耐久性，並且實際上一直維持到最後九圈，那時賽道已經乾到可以讓光頭胎發揮的程度了"。

“We used the same soft compound Bridgestone wet tyre both in Motegi, where the track was very wet and there was a lot of standing water, and in Le Mans where it started damp and dried, so this shows that the same tyre performs well across all types of wet conditions.”

"我們在Motegi 使用相同配方的雨胎，那時賽道更濕並且有很多積水，而在Le Mans 情況是潮濕轉成乾燥，這麼一來表示同樣的輪胎可以應付所有的溼地狀況"。

The conditions for the race were damp but drying. How did the wet tyres and the slick tyres cope?
“We saw this weekend that the wet and slick Bridgestone operating windows overlap, meaning that riders can use the wet tyre with good performance until the track is dry enough to comfortably use the slick tyre. For example, Jorge Lorenzo stayed on wet tyres until lap 12, whereas Marco Melandri switched to slicks on lap six and Dani Pedrosa even earlier on lap five, yet their lap times between these stops were comparable. This shows clearly that there is sufficient cross-over between the Bridgestone wets and slicks.”

賽道的情況是由潮濕慢慢的乾燥，乾胎和雨胎要如何應付這樣的情況?

"在這週末，我們看到場上同時有用雨胎和光頭胎的賽車，這表示車手可以用雨胎跑出理想速度直到賽道已經乾到可以讓光頭胎發揮的程度。例如 Lorenzo 用雨胎跑到了12圈，反之 Melandri 在第六圈換光頭胎，Pedrosa 甚至更早在第五圈就換胎，即使換過胎加上進站的時間也跟Lorenzo相差不多。這樣清楚表示普利司通的雨胎和光頭胎充分的涵蓋了大部分的情況"。