By Bridgestone Press Release
May 30 2004

Bridgestone is about to be presented with its toughest challenge yet in this season’s championship. Five consecutive wins for Michael Schumacher . . . . . .and no fewer than eight wins in a row for the Bridgestone-Ferrari partnership since Monza 2003 is no mean feat but Bridgestone intends to keep up the impetus.

However, Juan Pablo Montoya won the event last year in his Michelin shod BMW Williams while David Coulthard took the win in 2002 for McLaren Mercedes. The last Bridgestone win at the circuit came in 2001 with Michael Schumacher, something both parties will want to rectify in 2004.

The 3.34-km street circuit in the Principality of Monaco poses a unique challenge to teams and tyre manufacturers in the form of unforgiving walls and an extremely smooth track surface. Furthermore, due to its nature as a street circuit, teams can only rely on previous years’ data, simulation techniques and limited testing at other circuits in Europe with similar features. Bridgestone has been busy over the past week testing with Ferrari at the Italian circuits of Fiorano and Mugello while Sauber Petronas has been testing in the UK at Silverstone and Jordan Ford in France at the Paul Ricard circuit.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport:

"The Spanish Grand Prix was a special one for Bridgestone as Michael Schumacher claimed his fifth consecutive win of the season. Spain also gave a strong indication of how all our teams can use Bridgestone’s advanced tyre technology to maximum advantage and I expect to see this continue throughout the year. Monaco this week presents everyone with an altogether different challenge. It is an unforgiving but extremely rewarding circuit on which to drive and I look forward to seeing the Bridgestone drivers compete at such a prestigious race. From Bridgestone’s point of view, it is another technical challenge to embrace. The unusual schedule which sees us starting a day earlier means that track conditions from Thursday to Sunday can vary considerably but following extensive preparations over recent months I believe we will be better prepared than ever for the Monaco Grand Prix."

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager:

"We shall be taking five specifications of dry weather Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres to Monaco this week. The selection was finalised last week at a number of venues involving three of our four teams at various European circuits. It has been encouraging to see similar results coming from these different tests, which is very beneficial for having a clear development direction. Monaco is also the first of the double-headers so we have been working on our Nurburgring tyre choices too. Looking more specifically at Monaco, however, we have worked hard to improve our first lap performance as qualifying is of particular importance on a street circuit with limited overtaking opportunities. Very soft compounds are also necessary for grip and one lap performance but this can increase the likelihood of graining. We need to make sure we do not compromise performance following on from that first lap. However, we have been encouraged with our test results so I am looking forward to seeing our tyre performance in Monaco."

2004 Tyres for Monaco:

The 3.34km smooth surfaced Monaco street circuit requires careful thought by tyre manufacturers. Bridgestone equipped drivers will be utilising very soft compounds this weekend. In line with previous races, 1400 dry and wet weather Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres will be making their way to Monte Carlo.

Mr. Fifty Percent:

Bridgestone recently celebrated its 84th win since entering F1 in 1997. This puts the company into second place in the list of most successful F1 tyre suppliers. Of these 84 wins, Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher has contributed 42 – exactly 50%.

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