There’s a big difference between reading about a tyre and actually trying to behave like a responsible adult while it’s actively encouraging you not to. So when Bridgestone dropped us into Norwell Motorplex to sample the new Potenza Adrenalin RE005, the plan was simple: test the product.

That plan lasted about five minutes. I was on double duty camera in one hand, camera in the other, basically running a one-man documentary operation while our special guest Kumar was handed the far more dangerous assignment of driving the cars properly.

A job he accepted with the kind of enthusiasm that should probably be monitored. From there, the day moved into a more structured rhythm, but the underlying theme stayed the same: the more you pushed the RE005, the more it seemed to settle into its work. One of the first things you notice is how quickly it comes online.

There’s no real sense of waiting for it to wake up. You roll out, turn in, and the grip is already there. It doesn’t build confidence gradually it just gives you enough immediately that you start trusting it almost straight away. The steering response is particularly direct. Not nervous, not twitchy just immediate.

You make an input and the car reacts without delay, which makes everything feel more precise than you expect from a road-focused tyre. What’s more interesting is what happens after a few laps. Instead of dropping off or feeling like it’s reached its limit, the RE005 actually feels more consistent as it warms up.

The behaviour becomes more settled, especially through longer corners where stability starts to matter more than initial bite. There’s a calmness to it under load. You’re not constantly managing the tyre or waiting for it to break away it just holds a line and does its job, even when the pace builds.

The wet skid pan in a single shared BMW M240i was basically controlled chaos big circles, low grip, and that familiar moment where everyone pretends they’re testing stability systems while actually just seeing how sideways they can get before lunch. This is where tyres usually reveal their true personality.

Some panic. Some give up entirely. Some just seem to make things up as they go along. The RE005 just hangs in there. Calm, progressive, and surprisingly composed. You can lean on it, slide it, catch it mid-correction, and it stays with you without ever feeling like it s about to step out of line.

It’s predictable in a way that actually encourages you to explore the limit a bit more each lap. Next up was a half-track slalom in the Toyota 86. Hard braking at the end. Quick direction changes. The kind of exercise that doesn’t really leave much room for excuses.

And then because someone clearly enjoys adding pressure we ran the exact same setup back-to-back against a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 5. Same cars. Same cones. Same slightly questionable decision-making process. The RE005 felt tight through the slalom, almost eager like it was anticipating your next input and cleaning things up before they ever became a problem.

Under braking it stayed composed, with none of that vague I hope this works out feeling. Just firm, straight-down stopping and no real drama. After lunch, which mostly involved sitting quietly and reflecting on the fact we’d already done enough to void several warranties, we went back out.

Full track. Proper laps. Real pace. This is where tyres usually start telling the truth about themselves. The first lap is a handshake. The fifth lap is a confession. And the RE005 didn’t really flinch. No sudden drop-off, no greasy slide into disappointment.

Just consistent, repeatable grip lap after lap. It didn’t feel like it was hanging on it felt like it was in it’s working window and perfectly happy to stay there. Then came the point where everyone stops pretending this is testing and admits it’s just racing. A full grid of Toyota 86s lined up for a mock race at Norwell Motorplex.

It was less controlled experiment and more lightly supervised chaos with tyres attached. And while I was back on the sidelines trying to capture something coherent out of the madness, Kumar managed to secure the ultimate position: passenger seat in the middle of a rolling battle royale.

Honestly, the man didn’t deserve it—but there he was, grinning like he’d hacked the system.
Also worth pointing out, the RE005 isn’t some niche fitment experiment either. It runs from 195/55R15 all the way through to 275/30R20, so it covers everything from hot hatch territory to proper performance machinery—and yes, it even fits those damn EVs too.

Across its 50 available sizes (15-inch to 20-inch fitments), the intent is clearly broad application without losing its performance focus. By the end of it all, the RE005 had made its point. It doesn’t ease you in.

It doesn’t politely ask for commitment. It just delivers grip from the first metre, builds more as things heat up, and then sits there in this slightly composed state while you try your best to unsettle it. Which, at Norwell Motorplex, is really saying something.

Piloting these thoroughbred racing machines are some of the world’s greatest racers.
Behind the wheel of the Red Bull F1 will be Daniel Riccardo, hanging on for dear life on the Ducati is Troy Bayliss, Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth will share duties between the V8 super car and GT3 car, Neal Bates will be driving blind without a co-pilot in the WRC rally car, and finally, Garth Walden will be pushing the laws of physics in the Tilton Time Attack Evo.

So the question on our minds, which team will win? The Red Bull F1, Ducati Superbike, V8 super car, WRC rally car, Time Attack Evo or the GT3 race car?

To catch this monumental race and all the usual Top Gear shenanigans head to  http://www.topgearfestivalsydney.com.au