For the eleventh consecutive year, Bridgestone and SoyMotero.net have once again trusted our readers to examine one of the Japanese manufacturer’s most outstanding products. On this occasion, the challenge definitively moves away from the road and enters the territory of curbs, heaters, stopwatches and braking to the limit.
The protagonists of the Bridgestone-SoyMotero.net 2026 Challenge will be Antón and Alfredo Cachero, two motorcyclists belonging to different generations, but united by the same passion: sports driving on a circuit.
Both have received a free set of Bridgestone Battlax Racing V02 tires, consisting of a front tire in size 120/600 R17 and a rear tire in size 200/655 R17. In addition, Bridgestone will give each winner a 22-liter Oxford Aqua waterproof backpack.
Now it will be up to them to mount the tires, go out on the track and analyze such important aspects as warm-up, grip, stability, behavior during braking, traction capacity, wear and the consistency of their performance over the laps.
A challenge designed exclusively for the circuit
This edition has a very special character. The Bridgestone Battlax Racing V02 is neither a conventional sports tire nor an approved tire for combining road and rounds. It is a competition slick developed to offer its best performance on a circuit.
The Bridgestone-SoyMotero.net 2026 Challenge is aimed especially at regular track users who ride high-performance supersport or superbike motorcycles. The objective is to verify in real conditions the sensations that the V02 transmits and to understand its behavior from the perspective of two motorcyclists with very different experience, styles and trajectories.
Antón represents a generation that has discovered in the sessions the best way to enjoy a sports car, to the point of temporarily abandoning the road to concentrate on circuit driving. Alfredo, for his part, brings decades of experience, participation in regional and national championships and even several appearances in the legendary 24 Hours of Montmeló.
Two different profiles that should offer a particularly interesting insight into the capabilities of the Bridgestone Battlax Racing V02.
Antón: from a Rieju 125 to a CBR 600 circuit
Antón is 32 years old and currently resides in Cantabria. His story on two wheels began with a Rieju 125, a mount with which he was able to take his first steps before accessing larger displacement motorcycles.
With the arrival of the A2 permit he took the controls of a Honda CBR650. However, when he obtained the A permit he decided to look for a sports shoe with an even more radical approach. The one chosen was a 2009 Honda CBR600RR, a true four-cylinder supersport that would end up completely changing the way he experienced motorcycling.
“I tried the circuit and I was hooked”sums up Antón.
That first experience between escapes and pianos marked a before and after. The CBR stopped being a road bike and became a bike dedicated entirely to racing. Antón processed his temporary leave and put an end to its use on public roads to concentrate one hundred percent on the circuit.
As he still needed a motorcycle for everyday use, he bought a 2006 Honda FMX650. Two years later he replaced it with a 2016 Yamaha MT-09, a naked bike known for the powerful character of its three-cylinder engine.
However, that stage has also recently come to an end. Antón has just sold the MT-09 and, at least for the moment, has decided to “retire” from the road. The same does not happen with the circuit, where he will continue to enjoy his CBR and where he will have the opportunity to discover how far the Bridgestone Battlax Racing V02 can go.
His philosophy perfectly summarizes the balance necessary to practice sports motorcycling: “Gas and head!”.
Alfredo: competition, resistance and passion intact
The second winner is Alfredo Cachero, from Asturias and with a very extensive career linked to the world of motorcycles. His hobby began at the age of 12, when he inherited a Montesa Cota 74 from an older cousin.
At the age of 18 he obtained his driving license and began a period on road motorcycles that would end up directing him towards the circuits. After suffering a fall with a Kawasaki ZZR600, Alfredo made an important decision: he wanted to improve his technique and learn to ride more safely.
His love for sports led him to enroll in his first courses at the Jarama Circuit, organized by the Real Moto Club of Spain. There he was definitely trapped by the speed and by that controlled environment in which it is possible to work on technique, seek limits and evolve as a driver.
From that moment on he began to compete in different territorial competitions. He participated in the Madrid Championship, the Manchego Championship and the Valencian Championship, before making the jump to higher level competitions.
His resume includes the Suzuki GSX-R600 Cup, the Fun Endurance, the Spanish Endurance Cup and several participations in the 24 Hours of Montmeló. Precisely in this last test he achieved one of his most outstanding results: in 2006, his team finished second in the 600 cc category and fourteenth in the general classification.
Now, close to turning 60, Alfredo continues to enjoy sporty driving on a circuit with a BMW S1000RR. For the road he has a Kawasaki Ninja 400 – which he affectionately defines as his “mini R” – as well as a naked bike and a trail bike.
Far from thinking about giving up, he has a perfectly defined objective: to stay in shape to continue enjoying the motorcycle until he is 80 years old, at least.
“Luck was on my side and I am the lucky winner of a set of track-exclusive Bridgestone slick tires“Alfredo explains.”Thanks to Bridgestone. Now it’s time to enjoy these tires on the track. I’ll tell you the experience”.
Next stop: putting the V02s to the test
Antón and Alfredo will now face the most important period of the challenge: riding the Bridgestone Battlax Racing V02 in their respective sports cars and accumulating kilometers on the circuit.
They will not limit themselves to assessing absolute grip. They should also pay attention to the warm-up speed, the precision of the front axle, stability under heavy braking, the ability to transmit power to the asphalt and the evolution of performance as the number of laps increases.
Your impressions will allow you to know the behavior of the V02 from two complementary perspectives. On the one hand, that of a young driver who has recently converted his road sports car into a machine dedicated exclusively to runs. On the other hand, that of a motorcyclist with decades of experience in competition, endurance and sports driving.
In a few weeks we will meet with them again to find out how they have adapted to the Japanese slicks, what sensations they have transmitted to them and if they have allowed them to improve their confidence or their lap times.
Congratulations to Antón and Alfredo. Now it is time to connect the heaters, adjust the pressures and turn on the gas.
