Bridgestone launch new sporty road tyre
Bridgestone says its new sporty RS12 tyres will offer the ‘highest level of dry grip’ from the Battlax range.
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone has revealed a new sport tyre for the road, which gains racing technology and improved grip levels.
That’s according to Bridgestone, which says the RS12 Racing Street rubber “delivers the highest level of dry grip performance in the road-legal tyre line-up of Battlax.”
A lot of that can be credited to the newly designed tread pattern, which now features enhanced tyre rigidity and better contact with the road during cornering.
There are four tyre sizes in total: one at the front and three options for the rear. The new RS12, which Bridgestone also says is its “sportiest road-legal tyre ever made”, claims to be 0.7 seconds faster compared to the RS11 rubber on track.
Specifically, the tyre was found to be 0.7 seconds faster than the RS11 during a test at the Pannonia Ring race track in Hungary. During the development test the tyres were fitted to a BMW S1000 RR, which took place in May 2024.
The front RS12 tyre makes use of a new HE-MS belt which is a technology that gives it improved elasticity as part of its overall construction.
As a result, more even distribution throughout the tyre has been created with the new HE-MS compared to the standard MS belt.
With the new RS12’s set to offer improved contact with the road, that’s also likely to mean sharper and better braking, especially on corner entry.
Bridgestone has confirmed that the new Battlex RS12 Racing Street tyres will be available in Europe and North America from January 2026, before arriving in Japan in February.
Photo credit - Bridgestone
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
