Bridgestone to Supply Tires for 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

Bridgestone Corporation has issued a statement saying that it would be supplying solar car tires for the 2019 edition of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge for which the tire manufacturer has got the naming rights. The company will be providing the 32 teams participating in the event with its supplying its fuel-efficient tire technology.

The BWSC is the most renowned solar car race in the world and is held in Australia once every two years. The 2019 race event is scheduled to begin on October 13, 2019, and racers will compete with each other to complete a course that covers 3,000 km from Darwin on the northern edge of Australia to Adelaide in its southern part over a period of about five days.

Bridgestone will supply all the teams participating in the race with its solar car tires “ECOPIA with ologic”. These tires are fuel-efficient tires that are designed specifically for solar cars incorporating fuel-efficient tire technology from Bridgestone’s concept tire, “ologic.” The “ECOPIA with ologic” tires will have a number of features like a high level of durability and lower rolling resistance that make them perfect for use on a solar car.

Tires with ologic technology are narrower than conventional tires and have a wider diameter, thus optimizing them for high levels of fuel efficiency and safety. The wider diameter limits minimizes changes in the shape of the contact patch to yield lower rolling resistance, thus enhancing fuel efficiency. In addition, the narrower shape reduces air resistance while driving.

“ECOPIA with ologic” solar car tires
The sponsorship of this event closely aligns with the three priority areas for Bridgestone in terms of global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, Our Way to Serve: mobility, people and environment.

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge serves as a means for Bridgestone to contribute to the development of solar cars, to support young engineering talent, and to contribute to a more sustainable environment while using a new power source: solar light.