European Motorcycle Champions Test New Dunlop Race Tyres

Dunlop Motorsport will welcome more than 70 of the top motorcycle riders from 14 countries to test their new 2006 race tyres on the Spanish circuits of Albacete and Valencia, over five days in March.

This is the third year that Dunlop has organised such a pre-season test: “We are strongly committed to winning the national championships in all major markets. In 2005 we supplied the winning tyres for the national champions in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and USA“, said Steve Male, Dunlop’s European Motorcycle Motorsport Manager.

“We feel that, by providing our top riders from each country with an opportunity for a full pre-season test of our new tyre ranges on two circuits in southern Spain, with our technical team on hand to advise and update them, we are giving them the best possible start for a successful season in 2006.”

2005 Champions like the British Superbike champion Gregorio Lavilla, Spanish 1000cc Formula Extreme champion David De Gea, European Supersport champion Gilles Boccolini are amongst those taking advantage of this opportunity.

Using the experience gained in MotoGP, significantly strengthened for 2006 with its support for the Tech 3 Yamaha team of Carlos Checa and James Ellison, Dunlop’s new standard ranges of Superbike, Superstock and Supersport tyres utilise the latest profile, construction and compound technologies.

The work of Dunlop’s Advanced Engineering Department and tyre design engineers requires that the way tyres are built are changed in many respects. Dunlop has invested significantly in its manufacturing facilities at its Fort Dunlop, Birmingham motorsport facility to accommodate these new technologies. Compound technology has also advanced with multi-compound treads introduced into the standard range to further improve dry tyre performance. “And, should it rain in Spain next week, teams will have a new range of wet tyres to evaluate as well,” said Male.

Dunlop is sending four trucks, 14 technicians and 4000 tyres from its 2006 Superbike, Superstock and Supersport ranges to the tests in Spain.