A motorcycle tyre that combines race-quality grip in the dry, total confidence in the wet and wear rates that never compromise sporting satisfaction is said to have been an elusive wish for street and occasional track day riders. That is, according to Dunlop, until now. The company claims to have realised these qualities in its new SportSmart, a tyre it describes as creating a “new benchmark of handling and confidence, irrespective of road conditions – dry racetrack or wet country lane.” Dunlop adds the SportSmart is designed to deliver its highest levels of performance while putting in the hard touring miles and riders can thus expect to achieve noticeably more mileage from SportsSmart than they would with other hypersport tyres; indeed, during testing performed by Dekra in January 2010, using a 2009 model Suzuki GSX-R 1000 fitted with 120/70ZR17 and 190/50ZR17 tyres, the SportSmart reportedly delivered 20 per cent better mileage compared to Michelin’s Power Pure, 30 per cent better mileage than the Pirelli Diablo Rosso and 40 per cent better mileage than Bridgestone’s Battlax BT-016.