News - 2021

Bridgestone Announces 2021 Motorsport Plan

2021/03/04

Tokyo (March 4, 2021) ― Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) today announced its 2021 motorsport plan. Bridgestone supports various domestic and overseas motorsports, ranging from top-level professional series to grassroots amateur races, primarily by supplying Bridgestone POTENZA tires for car races and Bridgestone BATTLAX tires for motorcycle races.

In Japan, Bridgestone will supply tires for SUPER GT car races and All Japan Road Race Championship motorcycle races. Overseas, tires will be supplied for the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES in North America, for which Bridgestone's Firestone tire brand is the sole tire supplier an arrangement that is set to continue until 2025. Other overseas races supplied will include the Endurance World Championship (EWC), which is the world's foremost series of endurance motorcycle races organized by Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).

This year's plan also includes support for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 86/BRZ Race, the All-Japan Gymkhana Championship, the All Japan Karting OK Championship, and the All Japan Motocross Championship, all of which are held in Japan. By supplying tires to these motorsports, Bridgestone hopes to deliver enjoyable driving experiences on track.

The Bridgestone Group has put forth a vision to go beyond tires and become a global leader in sustainable mobility and advanced solutions that create new value for customers and for society. As part of this strategic shift, Bridgestone is committed to collaborating with innovative partners to pioneer active, intelligent and digitally-integrated technologies that will improve the way people move, live, work and play. The harsh conditions and demands of motorsports have long been an important testing and proving ground for Bridgestone innovation, and these partnerships will continue to help drive the development of new products, services and sustainable solutions.

This new vision can be seen within Bridgestone's motorsports partnerships and its support of events focused on accelerating a new generation of sustainable mobility solutions. Among these efforts, Bridgestone has partnered with the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), the world's first head-to-head, high-speed autonomous racing competition among global universities. Bridgestone will serve as the exclusive tire supplier for the event, which is scheduled for October 23, 2021 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway®. In addition to its partnership with the IAC, the company continues to serve as the title sponsor and a tire supplier for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) in Australia. Despite the cancellation of the 2021 BWSC, Bridgestone is set to continue supporting the event through 2030 as teams from around the world advance sustainable mobility innovation through vehicles powered only by the energy of the sun.

Bridgestone will continue to refine its technologies by engaging in a wide range of motorsports in Japan and overseas as a member of the mobility society while contributing to the development of the automotive industry and of motorsports culture. The Bridgestone Group looks forward to your ongoing support of its motorsports activities.

<Car Races>
1. SUPER GT

  • This is the most popular top-level race series in Japan. Tires will be supplied by both Japanese and overseas tire manufacturers, and participation in these competitions will help enhance Bridgestone's tire development technologies.
  • In 2020, the Driver's and Team's championships in the GT500 class were won on Bridgestone tires. In 2021, Bridgestone will supply tires to nine teams in the GT500 class and five teams in the GT300 class.

SUPER GT GT500 Class Tires: POTENZA RACING TIRE

Team Driver Vehicle
TGR TEAM ENEOS ROOKIE Kazuya OSHIMA ENEOS X PRIME GR Supra
Kenta YAMASHITA
TGR TEAM au TOM'S Yuhi SEKIGUCHI au TOM'S GR Supra
Sho TSUBOI
TGR TEAM KeePer TOM'S Ryo HIRAKAWA KeePer TOM'S GR Supra
Sacha FENESTRAZ
TGR TEAM ZENT CERUMO Yuji TACHIKAWA ZENT CERUMO GR Supra
Hiroaki ISHIURA
TGR TEAM SARD Heikki KOVALAINEN DENSO KOBELCO
SARD GR Supra
Yuichi NAKAYAMA
TEAM IMPUL Kazuki HIRAMINE CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R
Nobuharu MATSUSHITA
ARTA Tomoki NOJIRI ARTA NSX-GT
Nirei FUKUZUMI
Astemo REAL RACING Koudai TSUKAKOSHI Astemo NSX-GT
Bertrand BAGUETTE
TEAM KUNIMITSU Naoki YAMAMOTO STANLEY NSX-GT
Tadasuke MAKINO

SUPER GT GT300 Class Tires: POTENZA RACING TIRE

Team Driver Vehicle
muta Racing INGING Hiroki KATOH muta Racing Lotus MC
Ryohei SAKAGUCHI
apr Koki SAGA TOYOTA GR SPORT
PRIUS PHV apr GT
Yuhki NAKAYAMA
Saitama Toyopet Green Brave Hiroki YOSHIDA SAITAMA TOYOPET GB GR Supra GT
Kohta KAWAAI
ARTA Shinichi TAKAGI ARTA NSX GT3
Ren SATO
K2 R&D LEON RACING Naoya GAMO LEON PYRAMID AMG
Togo SUGANAMI

2. Kart Races

  • These races are prime venues for cultivating promising young racers.
  • In 2020, Bridgestone-supplied racer won the series championships in the OK class of the All Japan Karting Championship. Bridgestone will support numerous teams and drivers in 2021 with the aim of helping these racers win series champion titles.

Tires: BRIDGESTONE RACING KART TIRE

Class Team Driver
All Japan Karting OK Championship TONYKART RACING TEAM JAPAN Daiki SASAKI
Ayato IWASAKI
Sota ARAO
INTREPID JAPAN CORSE Ryoto SATO
BIRELART RANGO RACING Haruyuki TAKAHASHI
Yuki SANO
TEAM KOSMIC KARTING Azusa OGURA

And other drivers

3. All-Japan Gymkhana Championship

  • In the All-Japan Gymkhana Championship, Bridgestone will supply POTENZA RE-12D TYPE A and POTENZA RE-11S tires.
  • In 2020, drivers using Bridgestone tires won the championships in three classes.

Tires: POTENZA RE-12D TYPE A、POTENZA RE-11S

Team Driver Vehicle
JG1 Masaki NISHIHARA SUBARU Impreza
JG1 Masafumi HISHII MITSUBISHI LANCER Evolution
JG6 Yu MAZDA ROADSTER RF
JG7 Tetsuya YAMANO ABARTH 124 spider

And other drivers

4. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 86/BRZ Race

  • Both professional and amateur drivers compete in this race. Through the supply of tires, Bridgestone aims to communicate the fun of motorsports to as many people as possible.
  • Bridgestone will supply POTENZA RE-07D tires for the PROFESSIONAL Series, which is open to both professional and amateur drivers, and POTENZA RE-12D tires for the CLUBMAN Series, which is open to only amateur drivers.
  • In 2020, drivers using Bridgestone tires won the series championship title along with the highest number of victories in the PROFESSIONAL Series and the series championship title in the expert class of the CLUBMAN Series.

Tires: POTENZA RE-07D

Class Team Driver
PROFESSIONAL Series CG ROBOT RACING TEAM Rintaro KUBO
Yuya TEZUKA
Ogura Clutch with Revolution Masahiro SASAKI
RECRO 86/BRZ RACING TEAM Takuto IGUCHI
T by Two CABANA Racing Yuui TSUTSUMI
Saitama TOYOPET Green Brave Hiroki YOSHIDA
Kohta KAWAAI
ARTA with G-7AUTOSERVICE Ryusei ONISHI
Mansaku Motors Shoji INOUE
T2 FACTORY Racing Team Yoshiyuki TSURUGA

And other drivers

Tires: POTENZA RE-12D

Class Team Driver
CLUBMAN Series
Expert Class
SAITAMA TOYOTA MOTOR SPORTS Masaya HANAZATO
TOKOUSHIMA TOYOTA RACING Masafumi HISHII
AVANTEC RACING TEAM Marie IWAOKA

And other drivers

5. Mazda Grassroots Motorsports

  • As the sole tire supplier in 2021, Bridgestone will supply POTENZA Adrenalin RE004 to these races, which provide opportunities to experience the pleasure of driving in motorsports.

Tires: POTENZA Adrenalin RE004

Race Class
ROADSTER Party RaceⅢ NC series,ND series,ND clubman
MAZDA Fan CIRCUIT TRIAL NORMAL class
MAZDA Fan ENDURANCE NORMAL class

6. NTT INDYCAR® SERIES

  • The NTT INDYCAR® SERIES is the premier open-wheel racing series in North America.
  • Through its Firestone brand, Bridgestone will be the sole tire supplier for the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES through 2025. This year will be the 22nd consecutive season that Firestone Firehawk race tires will be the only tires used in the series.

Tires: FIRESTONE FIREHAWK RACE TIRE

Team Engine Driver
A.J. FOYT ENTERPRISES Chevrolet Dalton KELLETT
Sebastien BOURDAIS
Charlie KIMBALL
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT Honda Colton HERTA
Alexander ROSSI
Ryan HUNTER-REAY
ANDRETTI STEINBRENNER AUTOSPORT Honda James HINCHCLIFFE
ANDRETTI HERTA WITH MARCO & CURB-AGAJANIAN Honda Marco ANDRETTI
ARROW MCLAREN SP Chevrolet Patricio O'WARD
Felix ROSENQVIST
Juan Pablo MONTOYA
CARLIN Chevrolet TBD
CHIP GANASSI RACING Honda Marcus ERICSSON
Scott DIXON
Alex PALOU
Jimmie JOHNSON
Tony KANAAN
DALE COYNE RACING with RICK WARE RACING Honda Romain GROSJEAN
TBD
DALE COYNE RACING with VASSER-SULLIVAN Honda Ed JONES
ED CARPENTER RACING Chevrolet Ed CARPENTER
Conor DALY
Rinus VEEKAY
MEYER SHANK RACING Honda Jack HARVEY
Helio CASTRONEVES
PARETTA AUTOSPORT Chevrolet Simona de SILVESTRO
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING Honda Graham RAHAL
Takuma SATO
TEAM PENSKE Chevrolet Josef NEWGARDEN
Scott MCLAUGHLIN
Will POWER
Simon PAGENAUD

And other drivers

<Motorcycle Races>
1. FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC)

  • The FIM EWC is the only motorcycle road race world championship with multiple tire suppliers.
  • In the 2021 season, Bridgestone will supply tires to the YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL team for the first time in addition to supplying the current two teams.

Tires: RACING BATTLAX TIRE

Class Team Rider Vehicle
EWC F.C.C. TSR Honda France Josh HOOK HONDA
Mike DI MEGLIO
Yuki TAKAHASI
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Niccolo CANEPA YAMAHA
Karel HANIKA
Marvin FRITZ
YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL Sylvain GUINTOLI SUZUKI
Gregg BRACK
Xavier SIMEON

2. FIM EWC, Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race

  • In 2019, a team using Bridgestone tires won this race for the 14th consecutive year.
  • The 2020 season was cancelled, but Bridgestone will supply tires to various teams during the 2021 season with the aim of celebrating victory together.
  • Teams being supplied with Bridgestone tires will be announced before the 2021 Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race event starts.

3. MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship

  • In 2020, riders on Bridgestone tires won series championships in two classes (JSB1000 and ST600). In 2021, Bridgestone will supply tires to numerous riders, including those on 13 teams competing in the JSB1000 class and teams in the J-GP3 class.
  • In addition, Bridgestone will continue to support ST600 class races by supplying BATTLAX RACING R11 (NHS) tires exclusively to all teams and drivers in 2021.

Tires: RACING BATTLAX TIRE

Class Team Rider Vehicle
JSB1000 YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM Katsuyuki NAKASUGA YAMAHA
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. Honda Teppei NAGOE HONDA
Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing Ryuichi KIYONARI HONDA
Honda Dream RT SAKURAI HONDA Sodo HAMAHARA HONDA
Kosuke racing Kosuke AKIYOSHI HONDA
Honda Suzuka Racing Team Yudai KAMEI HONDA
Team ATJ Satoru IWATA HONDA
TOHO Racing Hiromichi KUNIKAWA HONDA
BabyFace Powerd by YOSHIMURA Kazuma TSUDA SUZUKI
Team KAGAYAMA Yukio KAGAYAMA SUZUKI
will raise racing RS-ITOH Akira YANAGAWA KAWASAKI
TEAM SUGAI RACING JAPAN Yoshiyuki SUGAI DUCATI
Team TARO PLUS ONE Taro SEKIGUCHI BMW
J-GP3 SDG MORTORSPORT RT HARC-PRO Akito NARITA HONDA
Marumae MTR Masaki TOKUDOME HONDA
Team PLUS ONE Shota KIUCHI HONDA
ST600 Bridgestone will supply tires to all teams and drivers as the exclusive tire supplier.

And other riders

4. MFJ All Japan Motocross Championship

  • In the 2020 season, riders using Bridgestone tires won the series champions in the IA1 class and in the Ladies' Class.
  • In the 2021 season, Bridgestone will continue to supply tires to three classes (IA1, IA2, and Ladies' Class).

Tires: BATTLECROSS X10/X20/X30/X40 and other tires for motocross races

Class Team Rider Vehicle
IA1 Honda Dream Racing Bells Kei YAMAMOTO HONDA
Bells Racing Yohei KOJIMA HONDA
T.E.SPORT with GOSHI Gota OTSUKA HONDA
T.E.SPORT Kazunari ONO HONDA
TEAM KOHSAKA Ukyo MICHIWAKI HONDA
Hakuryu MICHIWAKI
TKM motor sports Takumu YOKOSAWA HONDA
bLU cRU RACING TEAM TAKA Yuui HOSHINO YAMAHA
Team SBE Yutaka HOSHINO SUZUKI
SRF Kanto AS SHIMIZU Takumi UEHARA SUZUKI
Motoki NISHI
IA2 Honda Dream Racing Bells Kainosuke OSHIRO HONDA
Bells Racing Taiga YANASE HONDA
T.E.SPORT Negishi MIZUKI HONDA
bLU cRU M FACTORY Kota TORIYABE YAMAHA
Takezawa OFC Masanobu MUROI YAMAHA
SRF Kanto AS SHIMIZU Kenta SAITO SUZUKI
Ryosuke MANO
98% RACING Ren FUKUMURA SUZUKI
Team SBE Yuki KONDO SUZUKI
MOUNTAIN RIDERS Atsuki UCHIDA KAWASAKI
Ryo IKEDA
Yoshihito AKUNE
LMX T.E.SPORT Manaka KAWAI HONDA
Iroha ONO
Kotono YAMASAKI
Team SBE Yuzuki SEO SUZUKI

And other riders