Bridgestone's new street-legal semi-slick tyre, the Potenza RE-71RS, has entered the market having already proven its credentials with a 1-2 finish in the Australian Time Attack Club Sprint class at Wakefield Park last month.
RE-71RS has been released on the Australian market promising increased grip levels, improved handling, and better wear life over its predecessor, the RE-71R, while retaining practicality for everyday use.
The tyre made its competitive debut at the Australian Time Attack event fitted to the Mitsubishi Evo VI of Club Sprint winner Jamal Assaad and Evo X of runner-up Nik Kalis, who both recorded personal best times around the NSW track on the new tyre.
Bridgestone Potenza shod cars filled the top four positions of the class, with Andre Naz's Evo VIII fitted with the RE-71R tyre claiming third, and the Honda Civic of Adrian Pazman also on the RE-71RS in fourth.
Winner Jamal Assad and runner up Nik Kalis both praised the new tyre, vouching for the RE-71RS' increased grip levels, as well as better longevity and consistency across their flying laps throughout the event.
Assaad set an impressive 1:01.1130s to take out the Club Sprint class, bettering his time by a more than a second on the RE-71RS, and was impressed by the consistency of the new tyre.
"It's the best road-legal tyre I've driven on to date. The feedback the tyre provides is outstanding," Assaad said.
"I was surprised by how consistent the tyre was and my lap times reflected that. It didn't drop off during my runs and every lap on the RE71-RS was giving me more confidence to push harder.
"It feels like a very safe tyre because of the amount of grip on hand and the feedback it gives in the corners and under brakes. When you're chasing Time Attack results, being able to trust your grip levels is crucial and the RE-71RS is a tyre you can trust," he added.
Runner-up Nik Kalis has been a part of the Australian Time Attack community for the better part of a decade and rates the RE-71RS as the best tyre he has competed on, impressed by its responsiveness, grip and durability.
Kalis believes the switch to RE-71RS was the key factor in setting his 1:01.9020s time – a respectable improvement of half a second.
"It's so direct. Wherever it wanted the car to go, it went and what I wanted it to do, it did. It feels like a really good tyre," Kalis said.
"The grip level is noticeable over the older tyre and I was adapting my driving style to carry more speed through the corner. I was able to go deeper under brakes and be back on the throttle earlier because of the ridiculous amount of grip.
"The other impressive thing I found with the RE-71RS was how long they stay in the optimum window for. Other tyres I have used in the past are only good a lap of two, but the RE-71RS seems to have a longer life in each run, and each session felt as consistent as the previous," Kalis added.
The RE-71RS is available through Bridgestone's network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centre stores, as well as dedicated motorsport tyre distributors.
