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Valencia bridge woes

F1 s tyre supplier Bridgestone are reported to have asked the FIA to examine the bridge section at Valencia track over fears that it might cause punctures.

The circuit at Valencia sees the cars run over a swing bridge. There is a small gap in the asphalt where the metal expansion joint is to allow the joint to expand and contract without causing any damage. However it is not the gap itself that is the cause for concern for this weekend there are concerns that the sections of asphalt either side of the joint are at different levels and this might cause a puncture, particularly when the cars run with the super-soft tyre compound.

According to Autosport, the asphalt on the bridge is as much as 15 millimetres higher than the asphalt off the bridge and this difference in height has caused Bridgestone to ask the FIA to look into the situation. Bridgestone s head of motor sport tyre development, Hirohide Hamashima, has reportedly written a letter to race director Charlie Whiting asking him to look at the bridge section with a possible view to levelling the track ahead of the race.

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