swaps 4 wheels for 2  

Bridgestone 1-2 at MotoGP season finale  

Martin Westerhoff interviews riders Capirossi and De Puniet Bridgestone’s  overall  winner  of  the  2006  e-reporter  competition,  Martin  Westerhoff,  from  Bonn, Germany,  swapped  four  wheels  for  two  last  weekend  (28-29  October)  to  attend  the  final  round  of MotoGP in Valencia. Earlier  in  the  season,  as  a  finalist  in  the  Bridgestone  e-reporter  competition  for  aspiring  sports journalists,  Martin  reported  on  GP2  -  the  successful  feeder  series  to  Formula  One. 

Now,  as  the overall winner, Bridgestone aim to broaden his horizons in motorsport reporting. Martin  attended  the  Paris  Motorshow  last  month,  and  Bridgestone  wasted  no  time  in  ensuring  his journalistic talents were once again put to the test, this time in Valencia, where Bridgestone rounded off its strongest season to date in MotoGP – a championship in which they are official tyre supplier to Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki. Bridgestone-shod Ducati riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi dominated the Valencia Grand Prix at Circuit Ricardo Tormo on Sunday taking a sensational 1-2 finish as the MotoGP 17-race season drew to a close, providing Ducati and Bridgestone with their best ever result. Martin  Westerhoff  enjoyed  a  busy  weekend,  securing  interviews,  as  a  camera  crew  was  hired exclusively to capture Martin’s reports for Bridgestone.

Filming content for a Bridgestone journal and obtaining material for written reports, Martin interviewed riders Capirossi and De Puniet, Kawasaki’s Head  of  Communications  Ian  Wheeler,  and  Bridgestone  Motorsport’s  Hiroshi  Yamada  (Manager Motorcycle Racing).

Martin said, “On Saturday, Ducati kindly arranged for me to interview Loris Capirossi who was fighting for  third  place  in  the  championship.  As  the  last  race  of  the  season  Capirossi  had  a  demanding schedule and it was great to get a time slot with him. We were then filming for an hour on race day inside the paddock, which gave me the opportunity to interview Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet in front of  the  camera.  I  managed  to  fulfil  everything  I  wanted  to  do during our time with the film crew and really  enjoyed  the  atmosphere  in  the  MotoGP  paddock.  My  trip to Valencia also gave me a unique insight into the similarities and differences of Bridgestone activities in Formula One and MotoGP.”

 Bridgestone  e-reporter  aims  to  develop  the  talent  of  young  journalists  and  details  of  the  2007 competition  will  be  announced  shortly.  Visit  www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter  to  find  out  more  on Bridgestone e-reporter and to follow reports from Martin Westerhoff.