Bridgestone produces limited edition F1 snow tyres

Due to the extreme conditions in which the BMW Sauber F1.06 will run, the special F1 snow tyres, produced by Bridgestone Motorsport's Technical Centre in Tokyo, feature 420 studs on each of the front tyres and 588 studs on each of the rear tyres. It took two Bridgestone technicians over 16 hours to manually insert all 2,016 studs into the double layer of tread compound on one set of tyres alone.

Made from tungsten and embedded in aluminium casings, Bridgestone's tyre studs have been designed to specifically provide reliable grip on ice and hard-packed snow, exactly the conditions which can be expected at the event where night time temperatures have recently been dropping to approximately -15°Celsius.

By utilising the tread design of Bridgestone's Potenza F1 extreme weather tyres, the irregular placement of the studs in the tyre tread blocks is intended to maximise performance of each stud in the harsh conditions. In reverse to the policy of transferring technology from F1 tyre development to road car tyres, Bridgestone has transferred its knowledge of road car winter tyre tread compounds to the F1 snow tyres, using a soft, high-grip compound which will enable the tyres to work at a much lower working temperature range to that normally experienced by an F1 tyre on a race circuit.

The Bridgestone Corporation manufactures both studded and stud less road tyres for use by the general consumer. The Bridgestone Noranza studded tyre provides exceptional grip on the ice, without sacrificing comfort, handling and quietness and with its irregular placed aluminum studs was instrumental in the philosophy behind the Limited Edition Bridgestone Potenza F1 snow tyre.

"A remarkable innovation as the excitement for F1 increases across the world and the season is just around the corner. The F1 Snow tyre is definitely a very well-balanced tyre which is top-class on dry and very good on wet and ice conditions. We are proud of such advancement in production technology, and this definitely boosts our stand in the tyre market," commented Mr. Mohan Menon, General Manager, TLB, Towell Auto Centre, Oman.

Bridgestone Motorsport was recently announced as the official tyre supplier to FIA Formula 1 World Championship for the present year 2007 as well as 2008, 2009 and 2010. Marking this F1 season with a new innovation, Bridgestone is gaining more ground in the automobile industry. The profoundly known brand for its engineering excellence in creating the best rated tyres world wide continues its endeavor in bringing out the best for all roads.
In keeping in line with its concept of "Closer to Customers", Towell Auto Centre has set up 14 state of the art 'Tyre Care Plus' outlets in different parts of Oman to provide excellent sales and service to their valuable customers. The 14 Tyre Care Plus outlets are located at Wadi Kabir, Bausher, Ghala, Goubra, Rusayl, Barkha, Saham, Sohar, Karsha, Nizwa, Ibri, Sur, Salalah and Buali. Bridgestone has also set up two Truck Centres located in Ghala and Nimr.