News - 2026

Tokyo (September 24, 2026) - Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) is proud to announce that the BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM won the title of the 2026 FIM^*1 Endurance World Championship (EWC), the world's premier series of endurance motorcycle races, on Bridgestone's BATTLAX premium motorcycle tires, marking the first time in history that a European manufacturer has secured the championship title. This is the seventh overall and the sixth consecutive year that a team on Bridgestone tires has won the EWC title. Furthermore, Bridgestone-supported teams dominated the top 5 positions and, for the first time in company history, swept the podium at every round of the series.

[2026 EWC Series Championship-Winning Team]

BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM

[Bridgestone-Supported Teams Sweep the Podium at Every Round of the 2026 Series]

ROUND 1 ー 24 Heures Motos,
Le Mans (France)

ROUND2 ー 8 Hours of Spa Motos,
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)

ROUND3 ー Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours,
Suzuka Circuit (Japan)

The Final Round ー Bol d'Or,
Circuit Paul Ricard (France)

Since 2017, Bridgestone has supported teams participating in the full EWC series with BATTLAX tires, which provide high grip, durability and confident handling. In the 2026 season, Bridgestone supplied tires to seven of the 17 full-season entrants in the EWC class. The calendar featured grueling endurance races across a wide range of surface and temperature conditions: Round 1 ー 24 Hours Motos (Le Mans) ー in low temperatures; Round 2 ー 8 Hours of Spa Motos ー in variable weather; Round 3 ー Suzuka 8 Hours ー in rain and unseasonably cool temperatures; and the final round ー Bol d'Or 24 Hours ー in high track temperature and high-speed conditions. Throughout the season, BATTLAX delivered consistent grip, and as a result, teams on Bridgestone tires have now won 16 consecutive EWC races across four seasons, dating back to the opening round in 2023.

Comment from Werner Daemen, Team Manager of BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM:
"We are extremely proud to have achieved the world championship! Two years ago, we had the opportunity to work with Bridgestone, and to be honest, this was one of the keys to our victory. We are truly proud to work with such a professional company, and together with BMW, our team, and Bridgestone, we achieved this championship. We will definitely be back, and next year in Japan at Suzuka, we hope not to go for third place, but for first, and to compete again for the world championship. I want to thank everyone at Bridgestoneーengineers, marketing, operations, and all the people we have worked with. I hope to see you again next year. Thank you!"

Comment from Hiroshi Imai, Executive Officer, CPO (Chief Product Officer), Bridgestone Corporation:
"First of all, I would like to send my congratulations to everyone at the BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM on winning the series championship! Also, I extend my sincere gratitude to all the fans who supported the races, every team that competed throughout the EWC season, event staff, and everyone involved in organizing the series, including FIM and the promoter EMP. With dramatically different conditions at each race, the BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM demonstrated outstanding adaptability and unity, delivering truly champion-worthy performances and inspiring fans around the world. We are also proud that, in the extreme challenge of EWC, we were able to work as one Bridgestone team to support these teams by providing BATTLAX tires to maximize rider and machine performance. We will continue to refine our technologies at the racetrack and strive to develop and supply even higher-quality, higher-performance tires so that, as a member of our partner teams, we can contribute to victory from the ground up."

Guided by its fundamental principle "tires carry life," Bridgestone positions its motorsports activities as a "mobile laboratory," channeling the diverse insights gained in racing into the advancement of consumer tires. Through the appeal of BATTLAX, our premium motorcycle tire brand, and through our broader motorsports activities, Bridgestone is committed to supporting the development of a safe and enjoyable motorcycling and motorsports culture by offering peace of mind. Through these efforts, the company strives to achieve the corporate commitment of "Emotion: Committed to inspiring excitement and spreading joy to the world of mobility" described in the Bridgestone E8 Commitment.

1. FIM stands for Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme