The Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series heads to the undulating Istanbul Park Circuit for the third round of the hotly contested championship where the aspiring Formula One stars of tomorrow will face the challenge of maximising their use of Bridgestone's medium compound tyre.

Previously in Istanbul Bridgestone has brought the hard compound tyre, but in line with this year's approach of bringing a softer tyre to most races, it's the softer medium tyre in Turkey.

Istanbul is a difficult track to master. There is a mix of gradients and a range of different radius corners as well as long straights and high speed sections. It is a recently constructed wide track with a layout which allows a variety of lines into corners, aiding overtaking.

It is the only circuit this season to be run in an anti-clockwise direction, meaning the tyres on the right-hand side of the car will get a tougher workout than usual. The track can be characterised as one that is challenging for the tyres given the high speeds and layout. Heavy braking and high G-forces from the
corners mean a lot of heat is generated by the tyres, regardless of the ambient and track temperatures.

In 2008 Giorgio Pantano (Racing Engineering) and Romain Grosjean (ART Grand Prix) both took race wins in Turkey. Grosjean returns this year, racing for the Barwa Addax Team.

Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: "Istanbul is the only anti-clockwise circuit on the GP2 calendar this year and is demanding on the tyres, particularly in terms of the long corner at Turn Eight. Last season GP2 ran on the hard compound Bridgestone racing slick but following an analysis of last year's data, the new allocation for this circuit is the medium specification tyre. It will be very important for the drivers to understand how to use their tyres efficiently in Istanbul to gain maximum performance. The drivers' management of the Bridgestones will be the key to maintaining consistent degradation levels and wear rate. It will be interesting to see how the drivers respond to the increased challenge of the softer tyre."