Road Legal Dunlop GP Racer D211 “Echoes D211 GP’s Success”

The road legal descendent of Dunlop’s successful D211 GP motorcycle race tyre has been making waves since its introduction in late 2009, report Goodyear Dunlop representatives. “Echoing the success of the D211 GP race tyre,” states Dunlop, the GP Racer D211 has been adopted both on track days and by one-make national championships across the globe in 2010. As mid-season passes, the tyre is being run in the PromoSport Cup and the WERC series in France, the Yamaha R6 Cup in Germany, the Italian Superstock 600 championship, the Dubai 600 and 1000 Superstock Championships and the Ducati 848 Cup and Harley Davidson Cup in the UK. In Australia, the slick version (GP Racer D211 Slick) is used for the National Superbike Championship.

By the close of the 2010 race season the tyre will have achieved a record number of podiums and race wins worldwide, promises Dunlop, “as well as satisfying the needs of countless track day enthusiasts and thrill seekers enjoying the privilege of riding on race level rubber.” The D211 GP race tyre from which the GP Racer D211 is derived has now delivered over 170 podiums and over 25 rider championships in Superstock, Supersport and club-level racing worldwide. It also made history at this year’s Isle of Man TT races as rider Ian Hutchinson smashed the Superstock 1000 lap record with a 130mph lap using the road legal D211 GP race tyre.

“I am very pleased to be able to say that now we have some actual race experience with the tyre,” says Dunlop’s Motorcycle Motorsport manager Stephen Male. ˝The new GP Racer D211 is living up to our expectations. We are seeing faster lap times and improved consistency in the racing series where these tyres are used as a control tyre, which is exactly what we were aiming for.”

The tyre is a perfect illustration of Dunlop’s attitude to motorsport; the company took technology developed on the race track and introduced it to the GP Racer D211 to achieve an improved tyre performance. “The GP Racer D211 is a perfect example of cooperation between our bespoke motorsport tyre development facility in Birmingham (UK) and our mass production plant in Montlucon (France),” says Sharon Antonaros, European Motorcycle marketing manager. “Taking technology from the race track and making it work on the road is something Dunlop has always done very well.”

The rear tyres feature the same tread pattern layout as the D211 GP race tyre and the same full NTEC construction used to build the Superbike, Moto2 and Supersport race tyres. The NTEC technology enables riders to lower the tyre pressure for track day riding to maximise grip levels without sacrificing any of the stiffness of the tyre, says Dunlop. The rears also feature the ‘7000 series’ multi-compound tread design with seven different tread compound zones. These features improve rear tyre mid-corner grip, corner exit traction and stability under acceleration.

The GP Racer D211 fronts also share both the D211 GP race tyre’s tread pattern layout and its “aramid breaker” radial construction. The front features the 6000 series multi-tread design with three compound zones improving stability under braking, initial turn in and mid-corner stability and grip.

The tyre is available to consumers from Dunlop dealers in four sizes to suit most 600cc to 1000cc motorcycles in three compound versions, ‘S’ (Soft), ‘M’ (Medium) and ‘E’ (Endurance).