It was back to business today for Bridgestone’s three teams as they hit the Turkish Formula One track for the first time ever. The 5.34km circuit outside Istanbul has only recently been completed and although the drivers are relishing the undulating nature of the track, its surface has yet to clean up. A few spots of rain in the afternoon session may also have added to the slippery conditions. Consequently there were several off track excursions today but the surface is expected to improve over the weekend as more cars run on it. In the meantime, the Bridgestone runners had to make the most of their two practice sessions ahead of having to make this evening’s final decision over tyre choice.

Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager, said: “Being a new circuit there has been virtually no other running on this track so the surface is really quite dirty. Combined with the smooth surface this meant that conditions were slippery today. Taking this into consideration our teams did their main tyre evaluations in the afternoon session. It was quite difficult to make a fair comparison but now we need to check which tyres will be the best choice over a race distance. We know this circuit is quite tough on the tyres, especially the right front, so the wear performance will be one of the main evaluation points this evening. We are also expecting some track improvement over the weekend and although it is difficult to know how much improvement we will see, we shall need to take this into consideration when making our recommendations to the teams.”

The Teams
Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, said: “Dirt being thrown onto the track in different places made it difficult for the drivers. By the end of the session we found a better balance and the tyres began to work reasonably well as the track grip levels also improved. When the track was slippery, however, we did struggle a little bit. The track did pick up grip towards the end and if it continues to do so over the weekend, we will be in good shape for the race.”

2005 Turkish Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 Turkish Grand Prix - Team and Driver Friday Practice Reports Page

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