Bridgestone guides VW to EV lap record

Volkswagen’s ID.R has broken the electric-powered vehicle lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, using Bridgestone Potenza tyres.

The first fully electric race car of Volkswagen, the ID.R completed the 20.83-kilometre long racetrack – widely considered one of the most challenging in the world – in a time of 6:05.336 minutes, beating the previous record by 40.56 seconds. Bridgestone custom-developed the Potenza tyres to help the ID.R navigate the demanding track in record-breaking time.

Having previously set a new record in the iconic Pikes Peak Hill Climb, the ID.R team looked to achieve the same feat at the world-famous Nordschleife of Nürburgring. Doing so required tyres able to deal with the specific challenges of e-racing.

With vast experience in motorsports, Volkswagen looked to Bridgestone and its sports tyre range, Potenza, to support achieve the ID.R record attempt.

The Bridgestone Motorsports team began their collaboration with Volkswagen by assessing specific needs and requirements of Volkswagen, before testing and evaluating the resulting test data and, finally, across the R&D Centres of Bridgestone in Rome and Japan, developing a set of exclusive Potenza slicks for the ID.R.

The slick tyres overcome the ID.R’s unique challenges to give optimal performance and confidence on the track – ensuring that the electric supercar could use its full power on all of the Nürburgring’s 20.83-kilometre surface.

Due to the open-minded and transparent collaboration between both companies, the project was completed in less than five months – another record time.