Bridgestone to supply 15 Daytona 200 riders with BattlAx tires

Bridgestone Americas said it will have its largest racing presence to date at the 82nd running of the Daytona 200 March 7-9, at Daytona International Speedway. Bridgestone will supply tires from its motorcycle tire line, BattlAx, to 15 riders from seven different countries, including Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Niccolo Canepa from the Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART Yamaha) who are the reigning champions of the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC).

Bridgestone-backed riders in the Daytona 200 motorcycle race include:

Marvin Fritz, YART Yamaha (Austria);
Karel Hanika, YART Yamaha (Czech Republic);
Niccolo Canepa, YART Yamaha (Italy);
Ben Young, Team BattlAx (Canada);
Trevor Daley, Team BattlAx (Canada);
Diego Perez Zuasti (Spain);
Matt Truelove (England);
Harry Truelove (England);
Alex Coelho (Portugal);
Sébastien Tremblay (Canada);
Maverick Cyr (Canada);
Brad MacRae (Canada);
Matt Simpson (Canada);
Alexandre Michel (Canada);
Samuel Guérin (Canada).

“We’re ecstatic to mark our largest presence to date on the iconic Daytona International Speedway and feature our cutting-edge technology in our Bridgestone BattlAx race tires at this year’s highly anticipated Daytona 200,” Jared Williams, general manager of Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire business in the United States and Canada, said.

Bridgestone said it will also team up with Canadian Superbike Championship riders Ben Young and Trevor Daley to form Team BattlAx, which will debut at the Daytona 200. Team BattlAx will compete on a pair of identical custom Suzuki Canada GSX-R750 builds featuring Bridgestone BattlAx race tires.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."