Intouch: Issue #24 Download Dunlop Motorsport magazine click

InTouchISSUE 24MOTORSPORT NEWSMX1 CHAMPIONSHIP -SEASON SO FARDunlop faster and more durable with 2012 Le Mans LMP2 WinJULY 2012MOTORSPORT

Moto2 and Moto3 Indianapolis – 19 August3 MOTOUPDATEDunlop’s championships on the MotoGP bill get just one visit to the US, as they tackle the home ofmotorsport in the USA, Indianapolis. A tough track surface with banking makes for one of Dunlop’stoughest challenges of the year.What’sComingNext?Eight races into the inaugural season of theall-Dunlop Moto3 World Championship and thenew 250cc four-stroke class continues to havefans on the edge of their seats with the ’blinkand you miss it’ action.How close? A nail-biting round seven at Assen saw the top 15 riders crossthe finish line covered by 12.533 seconds. That made it the third closest raceof all-time, when compared with the previous 125cc two-stroke class, whichran from 1949 to 2011!Dunlop has created three different slick tyre compounds for Moto3 - hard,medium and soft - with a combination of two front and two rear compoundsavailable at each event.Frenchman Louis Rossi (FTR Honda) made it four different winners from theopening four rounds with a debut Grand Prix victory in front of his home fansat Le Mans in May. Maverick Vinales (FTR Honda) - a non-finisher at Le Mans- then began his title fight-back by becoming the first repeat winner at thefollowing Catalunya round.Catalunya marked the first of three successive Vinales victories - all claimedusing the medium compound front and rear. Vinales set his fastest lap onthe last lap to secure a tight 0.9s triumph over Luis Salom (Kalex KTM) atSilverstone, followed by a 0.8s victory over Cortese (KTM) in the Assen classic.Round eight in Germany saw the Dunlop wet weather rubber tested to thelimit when a torrential rainstorm soaked the circuit - delaying the start of therace - which then took place on a drying track.With eight of 27 laps remaining a clear dry line had developed, but the wettyres held up to the challenge incredibly well, no better illustrated than byCortese setting the fastest lap on the last lap.80,000 fans cheered the home star to victory by 0.6s overAlexis Masbou (Honda). A dream day for Cortese was madecomplete as he retook the title lead by 18-points from Vinales,who finished outside the points.Cortese is the only rider to have scored in every round and hasbeen off the podium just once. Vinales holds the edge in termsof wins, with four to Cortese’s two, with ten different competitorsalready claiming a podium finish. Six different riders haverecorded a fastest race lap.With Salom 44-points from Cortese, the championship couldbecome a Cortese-Vinales contest - but the race winners andpodium finishers remain anyone’s guess.Motocross action:@DunlopWorldMXLIVETWEETSFROM THEGRID!Moto2, Moto3 and FIM Endurance World Championship:@DunlopMotoDunlop four wheel international motorsport action:@DunlopMSportRound Event Winner Dunlop Front Tyre Dunlop Rear Tyre4 French GP, Le Mans Louis Rossi 95/70R17 KR189 WB 115/70R17 KR389 WB5 Catalan GP, Barcelona Maverick Vinales 95/75R17 Moto3 M 115/75R17 Moto3 M6 British GP, Silverstone Maverick Vinales 95/75R17 Moto3 M 115/75R17 Moto3 M7 Dutch TT, Assen Maverick Vinales 95/75R17 Moto3 M 115/75R17 Moto3 M8 German GP, Sachsenring Sandro Cortese 95/70R17 KR189 WB 115/70R17 KR389 WBM Medium Tyre WB Wet Tyre

Eau Rouge to Le RaidillonThe undulating roller-coaster that is Spa presentsnumerous challenges. The track layout features one ofthe greatest compressions seen by race tyres on anycircuit as cars streak through the downhill to uphilltransition from Eau Rouge to Le Raidillon which brings asmile on the face of almost all race drivers.Jean-Felix Bazelin, Dunlop Motorsport’s GeneralManager: “In particular, the compression forces put ona tyre through the Eau Rouge / Le Raidillon combinationare greater than experienced at any other circuit in theworld. This means we need to pay particular attentionto the strength and structural integrity of the tyreconstruction which at this point is working at theextreme of its operating window.”Dunlop rating:Nordschleifecorners – Nürburgring - GermanyThe Nordschleife features over 70 corners in over 25kmduration and takes drivers days rather than laps to learnit. The road course features a diverse mixture of surfaceand corner types to put Dunlop’s tyres through theirpaces, and frequent weather diversification is oftenorder of the day. And night. The Nordschleife circuit isone of the most heralded of tyre test destinations in theworld.Fuchsröhre – Maximum compression: TheFuchsröhre is one of the most extreme challenges onNordschleife. Full throttle through the sink andmaximum G-forces of 3G and above. So the tyreneeds to withstand three times the normal load on it,and still deliver maximum grip.Dunlop rating:DUNLOP’SMcPhillamy Park – MountPanorama – Bathurst - AustraliaArguably the most difficult of Mount Panorama’smany famous turns, the corner enteringMcPhillamy Park is the highest point of the race.The combination of speeds over 200 kph, andundulations intimate with the left had turn intoSkyline sees cars dancing on their tip-toes as thephysics of adhesion is scarcely adhered to. Anepic corner to watch during qualifying whendrivers dance over the top of this challengingcorner.Paddock Hill Bend – Brands Hatch- UKA fast right hander, with the exit dropping awayfrom underneath the car, Paddock Hill Bend offersone of the greatest challenges in motor racinganywhere in the world – whether it is taken on twowheels or four. A fan favourite in the Dunlop MSABritish Touring Car Championship, where battlesinto, through, and sometimes out of this cornerprovide delights every year. Imagine what it waslike when Formula 1 still raced there.Dunlop rating:Corkscrew – Laguna Seca - USAOne of the most iconic corners in the world, theCorkscrew is a left-right combination which aprecipitous drop in its midst. There’s a crest tocover in the approach to the corner, meaning thatthe driver and their tyres are working hard beforethey even enter the Corkscrew, which is enteredhard on the brakes with a late turn in before theground disappears beneath you after the firstapex. If you think it’s difficult in a car, imagine whatit’s like on a bike where the riders need to positiontheir weight perfectly through the turn and thenimmediately negotiate the next left hand, offcamber, downhill corner. An awesome complex ofcorners.Dunlop rating:Scheivlak– Zandvoort – NetherlandsA plunging, high-speed, blind right-hander,Scheivlak is lesser known, but right up there withEau Rouge and Paddock Hill Bend for thechallenge it presents. Entered with a dramaticsweeping approach, coming over a blind bend.Changing cambers in the braking zone don’tengender confidence as you enter the seriouslyfast and technically very difficult turn.Dunlop rating:Degner – Suzuka - JapanEntered after the Dunlop Curve, the Degner One /Degner Two combination provide a fantasticchallenge at Japan’s most challenging race circuit.Used for the Formula 1 Grand Prix and thelegendary Suzuka 8 Hours motorcycle race, thetwo turns named in honour of motorcycle riderErnst Degner.Dunlop rating:Corners are the essential testing component of every racetrack, it’swhere the right tyre choice makes all the difference. Here we ratesome of Dunlop’s favourites.Dunlop rating:Mutkurve (Courage bend) – Absoluteconfidence in the tyre needed: After Bergwerkthere is the long left corner, also called “Mutkurve”(Courage Bend). The driver needs absolute trustand confidence in the tyre because the curve canbe driven full throttle at high speeds but it’s a veryfine line between the perfect racing line or getting itwrong here.Dunlop rating:Craner Curves – Donington - UKA downhill right-left combination which will foreverbe remembered for Ayrton Senna’s first lap in thewet of the 1993 European Formula 1 Grand Prixat Donington Park and a section beloved of driversand riders. Depending on the machine beingused, and the skill of the pilot, the Craner Curvescan be taken flat out, or with skilful lifting of theaccelerator when some speed curtailment isrequired.Dunlop rating:Turn 3 Phillip Island - AustraliaA fast downhill left hand corner with a drop-off,often afflicted by wind at the exposed venue,pushing Moto2 and Moto3 riders wide as they tryto maintain speed and position themselvescorrectly for the next turn. Turn three offers ahigh-speed challenge not only for the Moto2 andMoto3 riders; it also gives the tin top containeddrivers in the V8 Supercar Series plenty to thinkabout.Dunlop rating:

CarlilechoosesDunlop toConquerNürburgring01A motorcycle rider from the UK choseDunlop’s GP Racer D211 tyres to set ablistering new lap record of 7m10s bridgeto gantry at the Nürburgring Nordschleife,surpassing the previous motorcycle lap recordby an incredible 20 seconds.Andy Carlile, a self-taught mechanic fromCumbria in the UK, set the flying lap amazinglyon a 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1, bought crashdamaged for around £4000 in 2007. The33-year old motorcycle racing enthusiast andpart time hotel worker has great knowledge ofthe merciless Nürburgring, having completed afew thousand laps in his spare time!The GP Racer D211 tyre, derived from themotorsport D211 GP race product, has givenDunlop well over 170 podium finishes, morethan 25 rider championships in top-classSuperstock/Supersport and hundreds of clublevel race wins. Its performance embodiesDunlop’s race to road philosophy, bringingrace winning technology to road tyres.“To have finally set this lap time it is anabsolute delight and I really think it’s possibleI could drop into the 6 minute bracket in thefuture” said Carlile. “If anyone had said thatbefore this record they would have beenlaughed at, but now it is looking realisticallyachievable.”Commenting on the GP Racer D211Carlile added: “The results were astonishing- NTEC is great. The GP Racer is an amazingtyre - very trustworthy and communicative,it provides excellent results fast. I havethoroughly enjoyed my experience withDunlop’s D211 GP Racer; returning to lessertyres at any time in the future is going to be adisappointing day!”EWC Le Mans 24 Hours – 8-9 SeptemberThe second round the clock epic in the FIM Endurance World Championship isthe season finale in 2012. Expect to see action, delight and turmoil right up to thechequered flag.Green is thecolour for Dunlopat Le Mans in 2013.Dunlop Motorsport is proud to be associated with the innovative and excitingnew GreenGT H 2 , the innovative prototype electric / hydrogen competitioncar which will participate in the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours.On board as technical partner for the exciting new project, Dunlop willdevelop tyres specific to the torque vectoring requirements of electric motorswhich are electronically controlled to deliver maximum torque to the wheels.Designed to provide a clean and efficient energy solution, the GreenGTH 2 has hydrogen fuel cells providing a linear power of 340Kw / 460Hp, andin parallel, a new lightweight twin-engine powertrain, providing up to 400kWor 540Hp. With electronic control and telemetry of the latest generation, thepowertrain will ensure the very best performance from the distinctive-lookingprototype on the track.“It’s a very interesting project, it’s very innovative,” explains Jean-FelixBazelin, Director, Dunlop Motorsport. “The car has four wheels, buteverything under the bodywork is revolutionary. There is no piston engine andit’s powered by hydrogen which is the most abundant chemical substanceand it only emits water. For that reason, it’s like a dream coming true.“From the tyre perspective, it is an interesting challenge. It’s a new worldin terms of harnessing the power and the torque. The electric motors allowvery precise management of the power and torque delivery at every pointof the track. Allying this capability to our computer simulation technologymeans we can open a lot of doors to new constructions, compounds andspecifications of tyres which we have not even thought of yet. We only see aworld of opportunities with this project and they probably go further than wecan imagine.”The GreenGT H 2 is due to take to the track for the first time in publicon August 25 at the Silverstone round of the FIA World EnduranceChampionship.What’sComingNext?WEC Silverstone – 26 AugustThe FIA World Endurance Championship comes to within a stone’s throw from DunlopMotorsport’s Birmingham base for the first event since Le Mans. Expect close racing atthe venue of the British Formula 1 and MotoGP Grands Prix with the all-Dunlop LMP2class expected to deliver the closest and most exciting racing.

What’sComingNext?Suzuka 8 Hours – 29 JulyA classic motorcycle race. It’s a round of the FIM Endurance WorldChampionship, but it’s much more than that as the Japanesemanufacturers unleash Suzuka-only specials complete with crackriding squads for eight hours of battling the competition and thesuperb twists and turns of Suzuka.FASTEST?A question often asked by Moto2 and Moto3 fans, is how canriders set their fastest laps on one of the last laps of a race?Well, there are many factors to be considered.A racing machine, whether four wheel or two, which ispowered by fuel and combustion gets lighter during thecourse of a race as the fuel is used and its weight goes,quite literally, up in smoke. This is a significant factor forcars, and still a valid factor for motorcycles.Less weight means a lighter machine and faster lap times.On a motorcycle, the weight of the fuel is usually carriedquite high on the machine, so any weight lost – even thougha motorcycle carries less fuel than a car – is weight lost fromthe right area to assist better handling, and faster lap times.Another area which assists a rider in going faster is trackcondition improvement. Every time a rider completes a lapduring dry conditions, the circuit surface gets better. Thisimprovement comes from the circuit surface being clearedof dust and debris, as well as a layer of rubber coating thetrack itself.This rubber left stuck to the track can form a chemicalbond with the rubber still on the tyres, giving higher levels ofgrip, and allowing faster cornering.Dunlop’s tyres are designed to deliver consistent anddurable performance. This can be contrasted with Formula1, where the tyres are designed to degrade with theperformance diminishing – sometimes alarmingly so. InFormula 1, this tyre performance is sought in order to assistwith strategy and overtaking possibilities for the heavilyaerodynamically critical machines.In order to deliver consistent performance, the tyres needto imbrue the rider with confidence. This confidence comesin a large part from tyre performance which is predictable,not peaky. The edge of adhesion needs to be felt throughthe tyre by the rider, not something that comes as asurprise. This is a critical aspect of Dunlop’s tyre designphilosophy; the tyres need to be communicative for the riderto extract the best results.Dunlop’s Moto2 and Moto3 tyres are designed to deliverconsistent performance throughout their life – just as anyrider would want from the Dunlop tyres ridden on the road.This means they can be called upon to go faster as thetrack conditions improve and the motorcycle gets lighter.In a sport where the human-technical relationship iscrucial to success, familiarity and confidence also play apart in closing lap speeds. The more consecutive laps arider completes, the more familiar they become with griplevels, which will often have changed since the last timethey were on track. This familiarity leads to increasedconfidence, resulting in a rider pushing harder as therace goes on.Other factors for consideration are desire and racetactics. As the laps tick by and the chequered flaggets closer, so a rider’s opportunities to make up aposition diminish. Riders compete in races to win, so theadrenalin and competitive desire push them to make themost of the last few laps as they bid to go one better ontrack.In addition, with overtaking on two-wheels mucheasier than on four, riders often wait until the last lapsto either overtake or shake-off a closely followingopponent. In the case of an overtake, the aim of a latepass is to reach the chequered flag before a retaliationcan occur. By contrast, a cunning rider can defend hisposition by holding back slightly and thus masking histrue strengths, before surprising his opponents with asudden burst of full speed in the closing stages.Dunlop’s tyres give riders the confidence to push attheir maximum late in a race, and that’s why riders likethem so much.The science of motorcycleracing tyresIn no other motorsport is the importance of tyres so crucial as with21 MAY 2012 motorsport.dunlop.eumotorcycles, where they convey horsepower to the track with the contactarea of a small coin. The link between rider and tyre is much closer than withany other racing machine so the technology needs to be right. Learn moremotorsport.dunlop.eu MAY 2012 22about the fascinating subject of motorcycle tyre technology here.

1MXUPDATEPaulin - revelationof the season.Paulin was back on the podium in Portugal with second overall in the event, thanksto a moto two win at the rough and rutted Agueda circuit. Team-mate Boog tooksixth in the event. In Belgium, Paulin took fifth overall, but Sweden saw an eventof damage limitation with seventh overall – his worst result of the season barring amechanical non-start in Mexico.Honda World Motocross have not had plain sailing this season. In Mexico, EvengyBobryshev picked up bronchitis, whilst team-mate Rui Goncalves was alreadynursing a tendon injury from a previous round. Both continued to suffer in Brazil,meaning a Latin American excursion the pair would rather forget.Coming back to Europe, Bobryshev had a fall in France, whilst Goncalvesstruggled with arm pump. Portugal looked better, with Goncalves up to fifth in mototwo, before a stall dropped him to sixth, with his team-mate one place behind.Bobryshev’s woes continued however, with a chest injury he would carry to the nextevent in Belgium, one where Goncalves broke a rib.Bobryshev bounced back with a second place in qualifying in Sweden, but wassoon bouncing his arm off a rock, requiring stitches and retirement from the event.Goncalves meanwhile suffered being hit by another rider in qualifying, then fallingprey to mechanical difficulties in the first race before taking seventh in moto two.Dunlop MX race coordinator Eddy Seel sums up the season so far: “The fight isreally exciting this year for the championship title, I’m always ready at the podiumwith the yellow caps in my hand!”It’s been a fast and furious couple of months for Dunlop’s partners in the MX1 WorldChampionship, with events in Mexico, Brazil, France, Portugal, Belgium and Sweden frommid-May to mid-July.Dunlop’s star has been the revelation of the season so far, with Kawasaki Racing riderGautier Paulin, who sits after nine rounds within 33 points of the championship lead. Paulinhas four heat wins and one GP wins to his name in fourth position in the standingsMX1’s visit to Mexico in mid-May didn’t go as smoothly as anyone would have liked, withsafety concerns curtailing riding on the Saturday, before action on Sunday where Paulin’steam-mate Xavier Boog challenged for the lead, before finishing in sixth - his best result todate.From Mexico straight to Brazil, where Boog went better with a debut MX1 race win in thesecond race at the new Beto Carrero track. Paulin’s results saw him just shy of the podiumfor the Grand Prix.Back to Europe, where Paulin celebrated a home podium finish, setting fastest laps on hisway to second place from a tenth starting position in moto one. While in moto two a freakaccident caused by a rock rolling into his path meant he dropped to fifth, before fightingback to third. His results meant he was third in the event – only denied second by tie-breakrulings. Boog meanwhile scored a best fifth overall in the event.See an on-board lap of Evengy Bobryshev in SwedenMX1 GP of Germany – 23 SeptemberAfter further rounds in Latvia the Czech Republic, UK,Netherlands and Italy; the season will come to a thrillingconclusion at Teutschenthal, Germany.MX of Nations – 30 SeptemberJust a week after the conclusion of the World Championship,the MX of Nations event brings the best motocross riderscompeting in the USA to meet the World Championshipriders in Lommel, Belgium.What’sComingNext?

DOWNLOADDUNLOP ON YOUR DESKTOPWE RACE, YOU WINDerived from the race dominating D211 GP, the GPRACER D211 sets a reference for track day tyres*THIS issue’SFREEWALLPAPERS!InTouchMOTORSPORTAVAILABLE THIS ISSUE.* To date the D211 GPrace tyre has wonover 170 podiumsand 25 riderchampionships.NTEC system allowsriders to lower tyrepressure for optimumtrack day grip andhandling.Multi-Tread compoundrear for all-round traction,grip, comfort, handlingand extended mileageJLB for Increased stabilityfor heavier sports touringbikes and a front treadpattern optimised forshorter braking distancesDUNLOPMOTORSPORTONLINEDunlop Motorsport’s websitehttp://motorsport.dunlop.euAll the latest news, results and images available just a click away.Media sectionPress releases, audio interviews, video and high resolution imagescan be downloaded from the media section. Subscribe to ourpress releases here.www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu