Dunlop to Supply New BMW UK Contest

Headline brand and tyre suppliers to the 2009 Great and British Racing Festival, Dunlop has announced that the latest addition to the UK racing scene, the new ‘CSL Cup’ for BMW M3 E46 and CSL racing models will be part of the Festival’s calendar this year. The Great and British is one of the UK’s premier race series, comprising racing from Radical, Mini and the Dunlop Sport Maxx Production Cup.

John Thorne of Thorney Motorsport, the promoter of the CSL Cup series, was pleased to secure the spot on the Festival’s bill: “We’re delighted. The CSL Cup is a new series for 2009 so to be awarded the opportunity to appear on such a prestigious series with an enviable calendar is really quite groundbreaking.

“Demand for the series is almost overwhelming,” continued Thorne. “Most of the interest seemed to be from experienced racers wanting to drive in a series where the costs were at least controlled but at the same time offered true GT racing in high specification machinery.” Competing cars will run on Dunlop slick and wet tyres, manufactured in the company’s Fort Dunlop plant in Birmingham, where over 200,000 racing tyres are made each year.

Thorne added, “The CSL Cup is aimed to fill a void in the UK racing market– proper 360bhp/1200kg GT race cars, running on premium racing tyres with preparation and running costs less than 20 per cent of that required to keep a Porsche 996 Cup car on the grid.” At the Autosport show, three BMW teams confirmed that they were preparing cars for the coming season so the first grid is likely to comprise in excess of 20 cars – an impressive figure, considering it is the Cup’s first season.

Dunlop’s James Bailey concluded: “The CSL Cup promises to bring even more spectacular action to the Dunlop Great and British programme. Our latest Dunlop Sport Maxx TT and GT tyres are a highly-rated choice for discerning BMW M-series drivers on the road, so it is appropriate that the race cars run on the racing Dunlop tyres as well.”

Dunlop Great and British Schedule for 2009:

18-19 April: Rockingham
6-7 June: Brands Hatch
4-5 July: Donington Park
18-19 July: Castle Combe
22-23 August: Croft
26-27 September: Snetterton