Intouch: Issue #24 Download Dunlop Motorsport magazine click

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