The name Bridgestone is a calque translation of the founder's surname — Ishibashi means "stone bridge" in Japanese. The company grew rapidly after World War II and by the 1980s had expanded into global markets. Its acquisition of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1988 made it one of the world's largest tyre manufacturers. As of 2021, Bridgestone has been the world's second-largest tyre manufacturer by annual revenue.
Bridgestone produced motorcycles between 1952 and 1970, initially making power-assisted bicycles and later mopeds and two-stroke machines. The company's main source of revenue came from supplying tyres to rival motorcycle manufacturers such as Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, and motorcycle production was eventually discontinued to protect those supply relationships.
Bridgestone's modern motorsport involvement began in the 1980s through tyre supply to feeder categories including Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula Ford. The company re-entered the Firestone brand into CART open-wheel racing in 1995 to challenge Goodyear. Firestone tyres proved superior and Goodyear withdrew from the series; Firestone subsequently became the sole tyre supplier to CART's successor, the IndyCar Series, a relationship that continues.
In Formula One, Bridgestone first participated in 1997 in partnership with several teams. The first F1 world title came in 1998 with Mika Häkkinen and McLaren-Mercedes. Bridgestone users won five Drivers' Championships and five Constructors' Championships during their time competing against Goodyear (1997–1998) and then Michelin (2001–2006). The partnership with Ferrari and Michael Schumacher was particularly productive. When Michelin withdrew from Formula One at the end of 2006, all teams ran Bridgestone tyres in 2007, and Bridgestone served as sole supplier through the 2010 season. In November 2009, the company announced it would not renew its F1 contract beyond 2010.
Bridgestone entered the Grand Prix motorcycle racing premier class in 2002. In the early years, the company competed against Michelin, which had been supplying the championship since 1972. The competitive balance shifted dramatically in 2007 when Casey Stoner, riding for Ducati on Bridgestone tyres, won the MotoGP world championship in dominant fashion. Valentino Rossi and other leading riders, who were running Michelin equipment, complained that Michelins were inferior. When Michelin failed to secure adequate tyres for some rounds of the 2008 season, Repsol Honda mid-season defected to Bridgestone — a highly unusual move that created significant friction within the paddock.
Dorna and the FIM announced that a control tyre would be imposed on MotoGP from the 2009 season. Michelin chose not to submit a bid for the control tyre contract, effectively ending its participation in the series. Bridgestone thus became the exclusive MotoGP tyre supplier from 2009. During that tenure Valentino Rossi won the 2008 and 2009 MotoGP world championships on Bridgestone rubber and served as Bridgestone Tyre Adviser. The company reached the milestone of 100 MotoGP victories in 2012.
In May 2014, Bridgestone announced it would leave MotoGP at the end of the 2015 season. The company cited the continuing evolution of its business environment as the reason. Michelin returned to MotoGP in 2016 as the official exclusive tyre supplier and has remained in that role since.
Bridgestone's MotoGP programme coincided with some of the most competitive and technically demanding seasons in the championship's history. The company's development work produced tyres that were demonstrably superior to the competition during the latter years of the tyre war with Michelin, and its exclusive supply era from 2009 to 2015 provided a consistent technical baseline during a period of major rule and machinery transitions. The IndyCar relationship through the Firestone brand remains ongoing and represents one of motorsport's longest-running exclusive supply arrangements.