had the adverse effect of the chas-
sis pushing the front of the bike
slightly wide, which I wasn't used
to with the Pirellis.
Once I had recalibrated how to
get the most out of the rear tire by
weighting the bike as much as pos-
sible and shifting my body towards
the front more, the performance of
the V03s was incredible.
Bridgestone then gave us a
single session on the old V02, which
reinforced everything the company
had claimed. The V03 offered more
predictable turn-in behavior, more
feel and grip at the highest lean
point of the corner, and more accel-
eration grip. It was quite eye-open-
ing because the V02 is an excellent
tire, and to see that big a jump from
Bridgestone was impressive.
But the best was yet to come,
as we got an extra session thrown
in on the new Sprint super-soft
compound. I will categorically state
for the record that I am not good
enough to get the most out of that
tire. The grip levels offered by that
Sprint rear tire were so huge that
even a rider like Jeremy McWil-
liams struggled to really push the
tire to its maximum.
Every strong performance factor
of the base soft compound V03
was enhanced by the Sprint. Forget
getting the rear to spin up if all you
have is a five-lap club race. It of-
fers strong performance, but I can't
comment on potential wear, as
much of that is down to bike setup
and track conditions.
Bridgestone has struggled
somewhat in the North American
race tire market, largely due to
Dunlop's extensive reach as Mo-
toAmerica's control tire supplier.
This trails down to club racing, as
those riders generally like to race
what they need to race at a na-
tional level. However, if you're not
worried about that, the Bridgestone
Battlax V03s offer a very compel-
ling argument. The grip on offer is
absolutely incredible, and I have no
doubt more riders will be compet-
ing in red and white over the com-
ing 12 months.
Rennie Scaysbrook
PRODUCT REVIEWI
Bridgestone's full range of
commercially available tires,
with the V03 sitting right at
the top of the tree.
List Price: TBA
Website: https://tires.bridgestone.com
THREE SIZES (1 Front, 2 Rear)
Front: 120/70 R17
Rear: 190/60 R17*/ 200/60 R17
Only available in Europe and
North America in 2026
* The 190/60 R17 will be sold
from 2027
P106
