Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128316
t seems that just about every week now, Team Yamaha's Chad Reed thanks "Doug from Bridgestone" from the winner's podium after dominating his 250cc main event. That Doug is Doug Schopinsky. Schopinsky heads Bridgestone's assault on the THQ World Supercross GP/AMASupercross Series and the AMA National Motocross Series, and with Bridgestone's alignment with the top riders in the sport, he has seen a lot of success lately. "This year, we're exceptionally blessed, " Schopinsky said. "I think we've just aligned ourselves with the right people. I don't want to call it lucky or whatever, but we've aligned ourselves with the right teams, and they have had the riders who are performing and doing well out there. "I believe that our product does have some technological advantages, but more or less we've just been fortunate to line ourselves up with the right teams . For 10 years, we've had a dominant share of the podium finishes. It just so happens that this year we 're more than dominant; we 're exclusive." Exclusive meaning there has not been a 250cc-c1ass motorcycle on any supercross podium this year with another brand of tire mounted all the way through Daytona. But dominance like that isn't easy. ou "Supercross is pretty hectic," he said. "Y know, we fly in on Thursdays and usually do the Parts Unlimited Dealer Showcase , try to get exposure and find out what's going on out there in the consumer market. First thing Friday morning, we've got truck parking, and we don't have a very big crew here, so basicallyeverybody does every job. And it's a lot of work with the semi tractor/trailer - setting up the awning, getting everything all together. Then we run through Friday morning's setup, get everybody all ready to go, get two practice sessions with each of the riders and take care of their needs . "Friday night, we usually do a dealer open house , once again to try to get in touch with the public and the dealers that are selling our product, because it's a good opportunity to find out what's going on out there. Saturday morning, I like to be one of the first guys at the track. I like to be here early because there's only one of me and there's a whole lot of riders that want my attention, so the more prepared I am, the better off things I are." And if you think that makes for a busy schedule, he says that during the off-season leading into this year's supercross series, he was putting in 60-hour weeks, whether it be testing with some of the world's fastest riders, development, or coordination of the efforts . Considering all the things surrounding raceday, it seems to the outsider that raceday itself might be a little more relaxed, but it's anything but. 'i'l.tany given supercross, we change about 100 tires," Schopinsky said. "It depends . The open-air stad iums that have a little more chance of the weather changing - not so much rain or something, but you'll have the sun come out and dry the track out, so daytime settings will be different from nighttime settings. It also depends on rider entry and everything like that. STORY AND PHOTO BY STEVE COX "On the factory service side of things, we have factory Kawasaki, which at this event is three racers, Pro Circuit (up to four racers ), factory Yamaha (which is up to three racers), Mach I Yamaha (up to three race rs), B-team Yamahawith Solitaire and the Star Racing te am (and Clark from Solitaire is riding both classes in the East ). Then we have the Amsoil/Chaparral Honda team (which is another six guys right there). There's quite a few guys supported by Bridgestone, and of course anywhere from five to 20 privateers will use ou r services ." Luckily, the Bridgestone guys have a bit better handle on tire changes than most laymen. Of course, 100 tires at an hour each wouldn't be possible. But what sets Bridgestone apart technologywise from any of the ot her manufacturers? "Our rear tire features what's called dual-tread technology, where we're able to pair up different side com pounds with different center tr ead co mpou nds, which once again helps you maintain that drive edge a litt le longer and gives you more grip on your cornering edge," Schopinsky said. "But the main thing with consumers o n that sort of thing is that they know the shape of the tire makes for handling. Most people think that the edge is worn, and that's what changes, but really w hat it is is, when the edge gets worn , it changes the shape of the tire, and the handling goes away, w hich is w hat they 're feeling more than the edge be ing gone . So by us being able to blend two rubbers together, it helps. Other manufacturers have that as well, just not in their production products." What exactly is the difference between , say, Chad Reed's tires and the ones you can buy from your local dealer, you ask? "Oftentimes, Chad is riding - I won't say racing - but he's riding at home and at test tracks with just the standard, production tire ," Schopinsky said. "But since the factory race teams have what we call 'controlled situations,' where Ican be here and monitor what's going on, and we know the bike is perfect, so when we get a comment on tire feedback, we know it's about the tire and not the suspens ion or something else. "We use this environment to develop the OEM tires, like the new 90-size front. Just like Chad Reed and James Stewart and everyone, I mean they start out with a pro duction motorcycle, but then they have $100 ,000 forks and unlimited resources with tweaking the bike that makes it perfect for them. Ifyou have a $100,000 set of www.cyclenews.com forks, you need more than a production tire to go w ith the level where Chad is going to be." But much of that technology eventually makes its way into the production market, like the 90-size front tire he mention ed . "Some of the technologies that we 're using in the front tire , we have something called cap base , w here we're able to layer two different rubber compounds together, and by layering two compounds toge ther, you can maintain block stability and playa little bit with the compound that you're using for surface grip," Shopinsky said. "That's a technology that Bridgestone incorporates right into their prod uction tires. A front tire is very sen sitive to softer compounds. Y u can only take a grip level o so high before you begin to have the knob fold over, or the tire becomes squirmy. With the cap base technology, we're able to use compounds that our competitors are lacking in. "Standard front -tire size is an 80/100-21 , and we 've put together a program a few years back that started with the 20-inch rim. That rim neve r really caught on becaus e the manufacturers wouldn't put it on OEM, and people didn't have the money o r the resources to buy additional wheels and go in that direction , but we learned a lot of things. A lot of riders really liked the attributes of a 20-inch front wheel , and the tire was a 90/ I00-20, which is a wider footprint and more air volume . So we stepped around that , and since the world's sticking to 21-inch wheels, we would do something with the larger footprint. We've been working with a program for a 90/100-21, and I think you'll see some of that sizing on some 2005 models ." So there it is, another race technology making its way eN into your garage as early as next year. CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 24, 2004 15