MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

Bridgestone is to introduce an improved method of marking slick tires for 2014. A new system of color-coding will make distinguishing between the various options much easier for fans to identify who is using which tire. The four different compounds which could potentially be available at each round (two for the Factory Option category, two for the Open category) are identified using four different colors: red for hard, black (or no stripe) for medium, white for soft, and green for extra-soft. Below is the Bridgestone press release explaining the color-coding system:

Bridgestone introduces new slick tyre marking system for 2014 MotoGP™ season
Friday, March 7 2014

From the first race of the 2014 season, Bridgestone will employ a new colour marking system for its MotoGP™ tyres to make it easier for spectators to see which front and rear tyre options each rider is using at a given time.

The change in the tyre marking system has been devised in response to the Factory and Open-class machines having access to different rear slick options over a race weekend. The old marking system denoted the softer option tyre at each race with a white stripe, regardless of the compound specification of that tyre. The new system means that each of the four slick tyre compounds - Extra-soft, Soft, Medium and Hard – will have its own particular colour for the whole race season.

This change will make it easier for fans to distinguish between the Factory and Open-class tyre allocation, and also distinguish the different front and rear tyre combinations available to riders over a race weekend.

The colour scheme for the 2014 Bridgestone MotoGP slick tyres is as follows:

• Extra-soft compound: Green
• Soft compound: White
• Medium compound: Black (no stripe)
• Hard compound: Red

As only two options of wet tyre will be offered for each MotoGP round; wet tyres will still adopt the previous marking system with the plain, black tyre denoting the harder option, while the softer option will be marked with a white stripe.

Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department

“The new tyre marking scheme is designed to make it easier for fans to see which tyre compound each rider is using on the front and rear of the bike. Before last year when the whole grid was on the same tyre compounds, our old marking system worked perfectly. Since the introduction of the CRT class, and now the grid being split between the Factory and Open-class machines, we’ve decided to change the marking system to suit. Last year, when our marking system used the white stripe to denote the softer option for each class, the audience needed to know if a rider was a Factory or CRT bike to know which compound was being used. Now, even if our audience doesn’t necessarily know the difference between a Factory and Open class bike, by matching distinct colours to each of our tyre compounds they will be able to tell the exact tyre choice of each rider.

“We must also consider that the growing popularity of MotoGP means more and more new fans are tuning in to watch races, and we feel that this new system will make it easier to understand the riders’ tyre choice and add an extra dimension to the MotoGP coverage.”