From a press release issued by Team Proton KR:

PROTON TEAM KR CONFIRM DUNLOP TYRES FOR 2004

Circuit of Catalunya, Spain – March 27, 2004: Proton Team KR today confirmed that they will run on Dunlop tyres for the forthcoming 2004 MotoGP season, re-establishing long-standing links between the team owned by principal Kenny Roberts and the Anglo-Japanese tyre manufacturers.

The England-based squad will be the only major MotoGP team to use Dunlops, offering a unique opportunity for joint tyre development aimed specifically at the special needs of the fast-developing Proton KR V5 990cc MotoGP prototype racer. The bike is soon to start its first full racing season, after a ten-race development programme in 2003.

The 2004 machine is a significant step forward from the first “shake-down” prototype version, with input from F1 car racing and the aerospace industry in the chassis construction, and extra power and performance from the revised V5 engine. The link with Dunlop offers the chance for further development, with the Proton Team KR engineers working hand in hand with Dunlop tyre engineers … a relatively short distance (less than 100km) between the team base in Banbury and the Dunlop factory in nearby Birmingham.

Team principal Kenny Roberts was clear on the positive aspects of the new alliance, and the opportunities offered for joint R&D for special tyres for the Proton KR V5, especially using the latest computer-aided design technology. His opinion is reinforced by engineering chief and formula F1 guru John Barnard, who joined Proton Team KR last year, and has played the major part in the redesign to the 2004 KR V5.

“With his F1 background, John Barnard has been pushing us to step up our activity in this area,” said Roberts.

“It seems to us that Dunlop have a similar belief. They have established a specialist R&D group, using the latest software modelling package that is specifically design to perform predictive modelling on tyre profiles and constructions,” the former triple 500cc World Champion and legendary team owner added.

Dunlop’s chief designer Dave Watkins echoed the enthusiasm. “Together with our Japanese colleagues in Kobe, we have been focusing more and more on this computer-aided development over the past 12 months, which has helped us to work even more closely to introduce new materials and technology.

“This a really exciting chance to work in this field, hand in hand with a specialist constructor, whose sole activity is MotoGP. Like us, they are able to respond quickly to the pressures and demands of MotoGP racing. And even in today’s world of instant IT technology, the fact that our base is less than 100 km from the Proton headquarters is a big help.

“It means our computer modelling group can frequently get together with the Proton Team KR engineering team, and develop a really close working relationship that will benefit us both,” said Watkins.