11/11/2005
NEWS STORY
Bridgestone Motorsport has announced that it has finalised a multi-year agreement with the Toyota F1 Team for the supply of Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres, commencing from 2005 winter testing ahead of the 2006 season.
Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "It is with great pleasure that I can confirm that Bridgestone has been chosen to supply the Toyota F1 Team with Formula One Potenza race tyres from 2006. This exciting new motorsport partnership between Toyota, one of the world's leading car manufacturers, and Bridgestone, the world's leading manufacturer of tyre and rubber products is hugely significant. Our two companies have had strong motorsport ties for many years in GT racing in Japan and in IRL in the United States, producing many champions together. We are extremely proud to now extend that relationship to our Formula One race programmes.
"The Toyota F1 Team is a very ambitious team with high aspirations and by choosing Bridgestone, tyre supplier to seven Constructors' and Drivers' Champions in the past eight years, the team has shown great faith in our technological capabilities. Bridgestone and Toyota have high expectations for the coming seasons and we look forward to a close technical partnership which will see us move forward together to achieve our respective goals. We also look forward to resuming working relationships with the team's race drivers, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, both of whom have spent much of their earlier careers on Bridgestone tyres."
Chairman of Toyota Motorsport and Team Principal of Panasonic Toyota Racing, Tsutomu Tomita said of the announcement: "It is a pleasure to announce that Toyota Motorsport and Bridgestone Motorsport have joined forces. I am sure that our two companies will share a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship over the coming years in Formula 1. After a rather successful 2005 season, our sights are now set even higher up the grid and we feel that Bridgestone is ideally suited to the technical demands of F1 in the future and will be the best match for our 2006 car. Toyota is serious about winning in Formula 1 and we feel that the switch to Bridgestone tyres is the best option in the medium-long term."
Panasonic Toyota Racing's first test on Bridgestone tyres will begin at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on 29 November 2005.