With Mario Andretti, Bridgestone Takes on Michelin in the Tire Marketing Wars

It39s unusual to directly criticize the other guys in the auto marketing space But this is a highstakes game The Pilot Sport 4S costs 379 each from Tire Rack The older version of the Potenza Sport is 250 there Clearly Bridgestone wants some of Michelin39s performance tire business and is willing to get aggressive about it The company39s current generation Potenza Sports are original equipment on such highend cars as the Lamborghini Huracamp225n STO and Maserati MC20Automakers and suppliers will sometimes say their product is quotsuperior to leading brandsquot but they commonly leave it up to consumers to decide which ones are under discussionThe presentation I saw was aimed at tire dealers and the media Why this approach now quotThe Michelin Sport 4S is a top competitor in the luxury performance spacequot says Will Robbins Director of Consumer Product Strategy at Bridgestone Americas quotWe are confident that the Bridgestone Potenza Sport has what it takes to go headtohead with some of the best in the category and we wanted to showcase that comparison directly to consumersquotIt39s a demanding field quotThe ultrahigh performance UHP category is very unforgivingquot said Jeff Cook Bridgestone Americas39 Director of Portfolio Planning quotIt39s about precision and controlquot Dale Harrigle chief engineer for replacement tires said that the key to the new tires39 grip in wet and highspeed conditions is their ultrahigh silica compound Tire nerds can get excited about quot3D sipe technologyquot and quota new hybrid crown reinforcementquotBut then the rubber hit the road Driver Burt Frisselle took out a BMW with the Potenzas going in circles on a wet road and gradually increasing the speed until they lost traction at 31 mph Then with the same car on Michelins he started to lose it at 28 or 29 mph quotWhen it39s raining the Potenzas have a bit more threshold gripquot he concluded quotWith the Michelins you39re struggling more The Potenza Sport gave me the confidence to go fasterquotThis kind of thing matters to performance car owners who will choose one car over the other based on their ability to go twotenths of a second faster to 60 mph Tires for these car enthusiasts is a growing business According to Mordor Intelligence MI the compound annual growth rate CAGR for the highperformance tire market is projected at 65 percent from 2020 to 2025 quotThe growing popularity of various types of automotive racing around the world has helped boost the growth of the market to a significant extentquot MI saidAcceleration times are a prime marketing factor and automakers keep ratcheting up the art of the possible The very fastest cars are electric by the way The Tesla Model S Plaid Edition reaches 60 mph in less than two seconds as does the Rimac C2 185 secondsIn part Bridgestone is after replacement tire business with speedobsessed drivers looking for the extra edge Bridgestone driver Lea Croteau was all smiles at a track down in Alabama quotThese tires have me all hot and botheredquot she said of the Potenzas quotI love itquot Her smile turned upside down with the Michelins quotIt39s not the same story with this tire at allquot she said quotThere39s a lot less lateral grip It just slides all over the placequotBringing out Mario Andretti one of the most awarded race drivers ever certainly reinforced the case they were making He is one of only two drivers to have won in Formula One IndyCar NASCAR and the World Sportscar Championship Dan Gurney is the other one He even won in midget and sprint carsAndretti got in the BMW with Frisselle who after a few laps concluded quotI think we both know what tire we preferquotquotWith the Potenzas the grip level is amazing you have control and when you reach the limit they bring you backquot Andretti said quotWith the Michelins you just don39t have that margin It39s hugequotquotTotally agree Marioquot Frisselle echoedBack in the studio Bridgestone39s Merritt Gilbert concluded that the Bridgestone Potenza Sport has quotthree percent better grip than the competitionquot ie Michelin And she added that it comes in 65 sizes to fit 81 percent of sports cars and sedans Bridgestone39s press release says that the new Sports quotwith upgraded wet acceleration and handling achieve three percent faster lap times than competitors on a wet trackquot A footnote says that39s the result of quotinternal testingquot against another UHP tire the Continental ExtremeContactIn the video there was a brief segment featuring the tires in winter testing with a Tire Rack team but the conclusions had fewer superlatives and were more along the lines of the Potenza Sports being competitive with other brandsI was curious what Michelin thinks about all this But the company isn39t talking quotWe will not be able to participate in this onequot said passenger tire spokesman Phil WatsonPhoto courtessy of Bridgestone Potenza Sport in actionClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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With Mario Andretti, Bridgestone Takes on Michelin in the Tire Marketing Wars

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Jim Motavalli

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