Interview with Chief Engineer Jun Matsuzaki

Continuing his series of special insights into Bridgestone’s motorsport programme, Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport and F1 journalist Kunihiko Akai were joined by Jun Matsuzaki, Chief Engineer of Bridgestone Motorsport in the UK. It is Matsuzaki’s role to lead the technical team attending all the Formula One Grands Prix and tests. Working closely with Hirohide Hamashima who supervises the Technical Centre activities in Japan as Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, Matsuzaki has an important role in highlighting Bridgestone’s technology and brand in Formula One.

Yasukawa (Y): Jun Matsuzaki joins us today. He has been working very hard in Formula One since the time of intense competition between Bridgestone and Michelin. His consistent and impressive approach to achieving tasks, based on his experiences, has not changed, not even after becoming the single supplier and therefore teams place their trust in him.

Akai (A): Matsuzaki-san, could you please outline your background?
Matsuzaki (M): I joined Bridgestone in 1993 and was assigned to the Technical Center (TC) in Kodaira City, [on the outskirts of Tokyo]. My first job was to work on advanced technology for consumer products, specifically on construction development. After that, in 1996, I was transferred to the Motorsport Department, where I also worked on the development of constructions. In 1998 I worked at Formula One races and tests for the first time before moving back to TC in 1999. This was followed by conducting joint technological research with Ferrari, before being transferred to the UK motorsport office in 2004. Since 2005 I have been working in Formula One, and after becoming the sole supplier in 2007, I took on a supervisory role for all Formula One teams. I see myself as a bridge between the teams and Bridgestone.

A: In motorsport I believe it is quite important to link the race track with the laboratory.
M: You are right. Actually, when working trackside, we realized that the working environment, including analyzing procedures which are normally easy to carry out in the laboratory, is limited. It is a matter of time, space and equipment. However, we have to cope with these constraints and respond to the teams properly. That is what we don’t understand if we only stay and work in TC. Building good trackside systems, whether for analysis or technical feedback, and developing a good working environment at the track is essential.

A: Do you mean working at race tracks helps to develop excellent technologies, as well as training and educating engineers?
M: Yes. In 1998, when we competed against Goodyear in Formula One, they had a huge lead in terms of wet tyre performance. It was because our development process was far behind them. As we realized our weakness, we returned to TC to analyze the data thoroughly and pushed very hard to develop new wet tyres. The experiences we gained at the race tracks helped to achieve this. It was not a matter of overall performance. We were able to detect accurately the areas in which to improve in order to gain an advantage against our competitor. This learned this approach at the race track, and thanks to my working experiences on site I think I have become quite flexible in my views.

A: Do you still focus more on race tracks rather than laboratories?
M: I go to race tracks from our UK base now but I try to work closely with TC in Japan. When we were competing with Michelin I contacted TC almost every day and shared information with the aim of improving our tyres. In the current single tyre status what I care about most is advising and supplying tyres equally and fairly to all teams.

A: What are the difficulties of being a single tyre supplier?
M: Each team has confidential information which must not be disclosed to other teams and of course, it is prohibited to supply special tyres to specific teams. The most difficult thing is to respond fairly to all teams based on our understanding of what the overall situation is, especially as the demands from the respective teams vary. Therefore from time to time I ask them to give more information so that we can treat them equally.
Y: Currently the most important thing for us on race track is to ensure fairness, something Matsuzaki-kun knows is crucial in a single tyre environment.

A: Do the demands of the teams vary so much?
M: The teams do come and ask many questions that we are unable to answer in the current circumstances. We often have to say that we cannot answer their question, which is the toughest thing for all of us. In the previous competitive environment we basically shared all the information with the Bridgestone shod teams and reviewed this information together over and over, but that is impossible now. As engineers, we would like to accept each of the teams’ requests to make this kind of tyre or that kind of tyre etc.. From an engineering perspective this would be very motivating, but the single tyre status does not allow us to do it this way. Currently we can produce only four compounds a year. That’s all. Previously we were able to try various ideas on a trial-and-error basis but it is impossible now. I believe we have two missions to accomplish in order to support the sport. One is to work on technological development within the feasible scope of the single supply terms of the contract with the FIA so that we will be able to gain a technological advantage against any potential competitors in the future. Another is to gain the teams’ trust by responding fairly and equally to all of them.

A: Do you prefer a competitive supply environment in racing?
M: When there were competitors we pursued, to the last minute, how to win the next race. What kind of information was needed for development at TC and how could we obtain the right information from the teams? These objectives could only be achieved by someone who who has a working experience of designing at TC and of being at race tracks. I was of some help as I had opportunities to work on both.

A: How many Bridgestone engineers work on-site?
M: One engineer is assigned to each team this year so there are therefore ten engineers for ten teams. In addition, we have a young engineer who will be a core member in the future, there is myself as a supervisor to overview all teams, and two assistants who report to me, one is Japanese and the other is non-Japanese. So that is fourteen engineers in all. Mr Hamashima, our Director of Motorsport Tyre Development and Mr Kobayashi, our Technical Manager also join us on site as members of the Management.

A: Motorsport is currently undergoing a difficult period with regard to environmental issues and the economic recession. What are your hopes for the future in these circumstances?
M: Personally I would like to continue supporting Formula One in the future as well as work on environmentally-friendly technological development. In our current tyre production, kinetic performance (improvement of grip) and environmental performance (improvement of abrasion or rolling resistance) conflict with each other but I hope to challenge technological development in the field of motorsport in order to control both of these performances so that they may eventually be compatible with each other in the future. Formula One teams are of such a high level that I believe we can expect good feedback from them too. I believe it is a very valuable environment in which to promote development as our high-quality technological approach will be met by high-quality responses from the teams.

A: Which race so far is the most memorable for you?
M: It’s the final race of 2006 in Brazil. It was the last race of tyre manufacturers’ competition and also the final race for Michael Schumacher before his retirement. In 2006, we had to try to recover from our loss in 2005 so we made a big effort. Though the potential ability of our new tyres was extraordinarily high we needed the full support of our company, the drivers and teams in order to make the most of our tyres. Thanks to their support we overcame many difficulties and continued working on developments. That was a year with many grinding races and tests and even though a Bridgestone shod car did not win the championship the performance of our final specification, which had been achieved by overcoming difficult situations, was perfectly suited for the track. I believe it was a clear-cut victory against Michelin, our competitor of that period, in terms of performance. Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team got the most out of the performance and though he did not make it onto the podium in his final race, Michael did not give up until the very end and set repeated outstanding lap times. I believe that was a worthy race for his retirement. Therefore, although I have seen many good races so far, this was the best race for me.

Source: Bridgestone Corporation