Dunlop pleased with progress at Daytona International Speedway tire testing session Buffalo, NY Dunlop Motorcycle Tires concluded three days of tire testing Monday, December 12 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) in preparation for the 2006 AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) Superbike series. The session has become an annual off-season tradition that allows Dunlop and its contracted racing teams to evaluate the latest designs and compounds in preparation for the season’s first races at DIS in March. “Daytona places demands on motorcycle tires unlike any other competition venue the world,” said Jim Allen, Dunlop’s manager of U.S. road racing. “We tested new construction designs for all four AMA classes and all showed improvement over last year’s race tires. We also evaluated some new compounds and made good progress there as well.” When the final results were tallied, new unofficial track records had been set in all four classes. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was the top Superbike rider with a time of 1:37.309 on his GSX-R1000. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo was the fastest rider in the Superstock class (1:38.961) aboard a YZF-R1 and also took top honors in Formula Xtreme on a YZF-R6 with a time of 1:41.647. Teammate Jamie Hacking rode a YZF-R6 to the fastest lap of the Supersport class, 1:42.210. Dunlop brought more than 1400 tires of varying construction and compounds to the session. Superbike teams had a total of three front and 11 rear tire designs to evaluate; Superstock riders selected from seven fronts and 12 rears. Supersport offered five front and six rear options while Formula Xtreme provided three front and seven rear selections. Dunlop brought 24 engineers, technicians and tire fitters to the track to support the 250 team members and riders who attended. “The tires we bring here are formulated uniquely for this track, we don’t use them anywhere else,” said Allen. “We pull out all the stops to support our teams here. We take our commitment to safety and performance very seriously.” Just over a year ago, the course was reconfigured to better balance tire loads with the ever-increasing horsepower of the Superbikes. The elimination of the west banking was a positive step to reduce tire temperatures, but the track — always known to generate a lot of wear and heat in the left portion of the rear tire — added more infield turns, most of them lefts, so wear on the left side of the tread is still evident. In addition, last May the track was repaved from turn one through the new infield section, increasing available traction and subsequently wear. “Overall, we’re pleased with the results,” Allen said. “We’ll be ready for Daytona when we return in March and the beginning of the AMA series.” About Dunlop Tires Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.