Bridgestone Announces 2021 Motorsport Plan

Tokyo (May 17, 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 motorsport’s 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

SUPER GT GT300 Class Tires: POTENZA RACING TIRE

_{^{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

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

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

And other drivers

Tires: POTENZA RE-12D

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

_{^{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.

Tir: FIRESTONE FIREHAWK

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.

Tire: BATTLAX

_{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: BATTLAX

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

And other riders

About Bridgestone in Thailand

Headquartered in Tokyo, Bridgestone Corporation is a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions. In Thailand, Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd. (TBSC) is a leading manufacturer in the Thai automotive industry, while Bridgestone Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (BSTL) is the exclusive importer & distributor, and supervises the marketing strategy for Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton branded tires in Thailand. Bridgestone is a brand trusted by its customers, dealers and business partners. It offers an extensive range of quality tires, carefully developed to suit local conditions and to deliver social value and customer value. Guided by its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone is dedicated to shaping a sustainable future of mobility and improving the way people move, live, work and play.