IN TOUCHMOTORSPORT NEWS ISSUE 6 SEPTEMBER ’09

THIS ISSUE:Indianapolis/ Brno MotoGPAlgarve/ Nurburgring LMSRed Bull Rookie Cup

ThREE DUNLoP CLASS wINS IN PoRTUGAL

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ThREE CLASS wINS AT PoRTIMAo FoR DUNLoPThe Portuguese circuit of Portimao hosted the third Le Mans Series race at the beginning of August. It turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Dunlop, setting a new benchmark in performance by winning each of the three classes in which the motorsport tyre manufacturer competes. with the sun hot enough to split stones, the race started late in the summer afternoon, when the ambient temperatures dipped to below 30 degrees Centigrade, and brought a touch of Le Mans glamour to the event as the 1000km event ran into the night. The chequered flag fell after 1am after a dry and largely incident-free

race, neither anticipated before the start. A large weather front which flooded Lisbon missed the Algarve region as the race progressed and the small undulating circuit, highly praised by the drivers with its fast blind bends, did not cause the associated problems many of the teams feared.

Instead, the race ran perfectly, and almost certainly will feature on the calendar for next season. That will please the Quifel Team ASM, which took its first victory of the year on home ground, and set the scene to win the second

consecutive race win three weeks later at the Nurburgring in Germany.

olivier Pla, sharing with team owner Miguel Amaral, led from the start, and only a long pit stop late in the third hour when the car stuck in gear, delayed them on their way to the victory.

In the GT1 class, the Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette team, which switched to Dunlop tyres this season, won by a comfortable margin. Their nearest challengers stopped with a broken floor, offering them

a 22-lap cushion at the chequered flag.

There was high drama in the GT2 class involving some minor collisions on the opening lap with championship drivers. JMw Motorsport Ferrari driver Rob Bell completed much of the opening stint with a damaged tyre having been hit by another Ferrari. The team worked their way back into contention, and took the win by a narrow margin. “This was a team effort, and we had the best car, team and tyre,” said Bell. “Looking at the results today, this was a great day for Dunlop.”

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PoRTUGUESE wIN IN LMP2Miguel Amaral and his Portuguese Quifel ASM Ginetta-Zytek sports car team achieved two major 1,000 kilometre victories in August, winning the Le Mans Series LMP2 divi-sion at the Algarve, and again at the Nürburgring three weeks later. Amaral and his French co-driver olivier Pla need only to finish safely the next round, at Silverstone on September 13, to claim the driver and teams championships for Dunlop. Jim Mcwirt-er’s Dunlop equipped JMw Ferrari team lost its lead in the GT2 championship with a broken driveshaft, the first ‘zero’ of the season for Gianmaria Bruni and Rob Bell.

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hERBERT BACK oN DUNLoPS FoR BTCC SILVERSToNE DEBUTLe Mans legend Johnny herbert was back on Dunlop race tyres again last weekend for his first appearance in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship). The ex-formula 1 driver was at the wheel of the Team Dynamic’s honda Civic having signed for the last three rounds of the championship to replace driver James Thompson. herbert has historical ties with Dunlop, in 1991 he become the first driver to take victory at Le Mans with a Japanese manufacturer, piloting the Dunlop shod Mazda 787B to the chequered flag

alongside Bertrand Gachot and Volker weidler. herbert’s BTCC weekend got off to a promising start, scoring points in race two with an eighth place finish and was looking promising for a top four finish in race three until he was knocked off the track by Jason Plato. The British driver was obviously adapting quickly to the Dunlop slicks and wets, taking his points in race two under wet conditions. The BTCC now moves to the Rockingham circuit for the penultimate round on the 20th September.

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DUNLoP.EU GoES LIVE...The new website Dunlop.eu brings you all the latest news and up-to-date racing action. You can also view all of Dunlop’s InTouch newsletters, up-to-date product information and availability and find your nearest Dunlop approved tyre dealer.

Click on the image to view the video.

Click on the image to visit the website.

on the site you can also find all the latest Dunlop videos bringing you a broad spec-trum of racing action, including exclusive footage of this year’s Le Mans 24hR race.

BMw DoMINATE ALMS PoDIUMThe GT-2 class BMw M3’s returned to the American Le Mans Series winner’s circle with a 1-2 finish by the BMw Rahal Letterman Racing Team at the Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake.The No.90 M3, driven by Joey hand and Bill Auberlen, achieved the new M3 racing program’s first victory following a third placed podium finish at the prevous race in Lime Rock Park. Team-mates Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller in the No.92 M3 scored their fourth podium finish of the sea-son in second place.

“we were fast from the beginning of the week-end” said Martin Birkmann, BMw of North Ameri-ca Motorsport Manager “and brought home the first victory for the program. we had incredible support from all our partners and especially Dunlop, who continue to deliver for us. we have now arrived at a level where we can fight for top honors and that’s what the program was designed to do.”

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Reigning world 250cc Champion Marco Simoncelli claimed victory in the first and last ever 250cc race to take place at Indianapolis last weekend, hurricane Ike having forced the cancellation of the 2008 race. The Italian rider worked hard for his win, having started from third on the grid and still recovering from three crashes on the Saturday. The track, which uses part of the famous oval along with a specially created infield section proved extremely challenging for all the MotoGP classes with three different surfaces and many bumps causing a number of front end crashes throughout the race weekend. The Dunlop tyres were clearly up to the

challenge in the right hands as Simoncelli set the fastest lap of the race just two laps from the flag to establish the never to be broken 250cc lap record of 1.44.7. hiroshi Aoyama finished a strong second to slightly extend his championship lead over Bautista, whilst Simoncelli having won both the last races, is now just 27 points off the championship lead with five races remaining. with 14 of the 125cc field qualifying in the same second, not surprisingly the race was tense throughout. Nico Terol, led a tight group for most of the race, but losing out on the last lap as Pol Espargaro came through to take Derbi’s first victory of the season, with Bradley Smith just

0.12 second behind after setting a new lap record on the final lap. Championship leader Julian Simon finished fifth, just 1.8 seconds from Espargaro, but still has a solid 52.5 point lead in the championship as the teams head directly from USA to Italy for the San Marino GP at Misano this weekend, Sept 6. Moto2 bikes from BQR and Moriwaki were both out on track at Indianapolis, with American racing legend Kevin Schwantz putting in a few laps on the BQR honda whilst test rider Shogo Moriwaki put the Moriwaki MD600 through its paces in front of the 75,000 American fans at the iconic circuit, which is celebrating its centenary this year.

SIMoNCELLI CLAIMS FIRST AND LAST INDIANAPoLIS 250GP VICToRY

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EASTERN PRoMISE

Building on Yamaha rider Katsuyuki Nagasuka’s 2008 Championship victory in the Japanese Superbike 1000 class (Dunlop’s first since 2003), Dunlop riders have again been in the thick of battle for the 2009 title. After four of the JSB Championship rounds, Dunlop have claimed three of the top six positions in the standings, with top rider Chojun Kameya currently in second place just eight points adrift of championship leader Tatsuya Yamaguchi. Still to come are okayama (September 27th), Motegi (october 18th) and Suzuka (November 1st).

As always, the top Japanese Superbike teams were present in force for the Suzuka 8 hours, the Japanese round of the FIM world Endurance Championship held on July 26th. honda riders Yuki Takahashi and Chojun Kameya rode strongly in a difficult race, with more than half run under sometimes heavy rain with no fewer than four safety car ap-pearances. As the chequered flag fell they claimed third, the first appearance on the Suzuka 8 hours podium for Dunlop since 2004. The FIM world Endurance Championship now heads to Magny Cours for the 24hR Bol d’or on September 12/13th with reigning world Champions SERT Suzuki fresh from a big test programme with Dunlop throughout the sum-mer, looking to repeat their 2008 Bol D’or victory.

DuNLOP buILDS ON 2008 JAPANESE SuPERbIkE cHAMPIONSHIP vIcTORy

DuNLOP bAck ON THE SuzukA 8 HOuRS PODIuM

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TAKE IT To ThE TRACKModern day motorbikes offer incredible performance that can be daunting for everyday road users. Keeping the power under control and getting the most from it with the right tyres can be a confusing and challenging task. Dunlop France have been running innovative track days, giving riders a chance to discover the potential of Dunlop tyres on some of the most exclusive race tracks in the country. The Dunlop Motodays give riders the opportunity to develop their riding limits and tyre potential in a safe environment advised by Dunlop engineers with years of expert tyre experience. The days are tutored by expert riders offering tips and riding techniques giving participants the confidence to ride.

Dunlop Motodays are also an innovative tool for Dunlop tyre retailers to promote and differentiate the hyper and supersport ranges on offer. The track days focus on exploiting

the full potential of these tyre ranges, giving riders the opportunity to experience the class leading GP Racer slick, the GP Racer D 209, the Qualifier RR, the D 208 RR, the Qualifier II and the Roadsmart tyre.

Adding to the day’s features and excitements, various world class racing legends make appearances at the track days, including former 125cc world Champion Arnaud Vincent. Add to this a local rock band to provide the entertainment and the lucky participants truly have a memorable experience.

To qualify for a Dunlop Motoday riders need to be given an official invitation by a participating Dunlop retailer and return that invitation completed within the allotted timeframe. would be track day enthusiasts also need to arrive at the track with their bikes shod with Dunlop tyres!

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Q&A: JEREMY FERGUSoN AND CLINToN howE DISCUSS GP ChALLENGESThe 125 and 250GP classes provide the closest of racing and it’s not unusual to see 10 riders fighting for the win on the last lap. Providing the right rubber for the wildly varying track surfaces and in extremes of weather from heat sapping high humidity tropical sunshine to torrential rain is no easy task, but is achieved race in, race out all over the world by a crack team of Dunlop engineers and fitters. Jeremy Ferguson, International Motorsport Manager and clinton Howe, MotoGP coordinator, give an insight into how Dunlop make it happen.

> Ensuring 60 riders have the right rubber at each and every of the 17 Grand Prix is no small feat, how do the logistics work?

we get the race calendar about 6 months in advance - we have just received that for 2010. working back gives us the latest dates for sending the sea containers to the races outside Europe, and enables us to plan the season’s requirements on the factory. “Back to back” races on successive weekends (Spain to holland for example) pose specific logistic problems for us. we build on the experience we have to decide which specifications of tyres to use at any given race. we look at the previous year’s results, check if the track has been altered or resurfaced, and then at the status of any new tyre developments. 125cc tyres are developed and manufactured in Japan, which lengthens the delivery process - but we have regular video conferences with our colleagues in Japan to discuss results and agree future developments

and timing. The 250cc tyres are all developed and manufactured in Birmingham which obviously shortens the logistic process. Practice time at races has been considerably shortened this year which makes it more difficult to test new specifications during the race weekend, and testing both before and during the season is also tightly controlled by regulation. we also have a strict policy of supplying every rider with the same quantity and specification at each GP.

> What is the biggest challenge facing the Dunlop Motorsport team on a typical race weekend?

Usually the weather! Riders think their Dunlop tyre engineer is also a weather forecaster and can tell

them whether or not it is going to rain in the next hour! Seriously, the practice schedule gives our team of fitters a small window of time to strip, fit and balance new tyres for the 60 riders between sessions. For example; the 250cc session finishes at 12.15 pm and starts again three hours later. In this time we can be expected to fit and balance anything up to 150 tyres and have them ready for the teams to put into the tyre warmers one hour before the next session starts - about 50 tyres every half hour! And if the weather changes...the pressure increases! we always deliver though.

> What would you define as Dunlop’s crowning moment in its history of involvement in the 250cc class?

with 489 Dunlop victories in the 711 250cc Grand Prix held over the last 60 years - where does one start to answer? we would probably single out the period of the 1990’s when, step by step, teams and manufacturers switched from Michelin to Dunlop. This laid the foundations for our current unbeaten run of 214 consecutive GP wins and 16 consecutive world Championships with riders like Biaggi, Capirossi, Rossi, Melandri, Pedrosa and Lorenzo. our close partnership with Aprilia, which goes back to 1991 has also played a key role.

> How many tyres do you use in an average race weekend and how many different compounds and variations do you take with you?

we take around 1700 tyres to each GP. we actually use about 800 of these. In 125cc we normally offer 2 front and rear slick compound choices, though there are some particularly difficult tracks where a third alternative is made available. For 250cc we offer

three front and rear slick compound choices, and two variations of front construction where required. wet tyres in both classes are limited to a single specification - which works extremely well across a wide range of wet conditions as the British GP at Donington last month clearly illustrated.

> Rider feedback is essential to further development, are there any particular riders who stand out as providing crucial information which helps the Dunlop engineers to further their development process?

There are always riders that have the technical ability of explaining what a tyre is doing, there are other riders who are just damn fast all the time, but not so good at explaining why. The first group give you the information you need, the second confirm the result by constantly going quicker. Sometimes the fastest rider will need to be told by his data engineer where in the lap he made the improvement, whereas the technically

aware rider will hold back his times, but tell you it is easily possible to go quicker. Although telemetry can tell us a lot, the rider’s feeling and confidence remains a vitally important factor, particularly regarding front tyres.

> How does the decision making process work for which tyre a rider will use for the race?

The rider always has the final say on which tyres he will use for the race. The process can be long or short and will involve everyone in the team as well as the Dunlop service engineer. we can, and with some riders, often talk and talk about what is the tyre most suited to that rider on that day under those conditions - but at the end it is the rider’s decision. No one else rides the bike! he may prefer the option which has better initial grip in the early laps or one which will be better in the last laps - depending on how he personally has decided to ride his race. occasionally he may take a gamble on the weather changing

significantly during the race - normally that makes him ‘hero or zero’.

> Which is the toughest circuit in the championship that demands the widest variables for track surface and unpredictable weather conditions?

Many circuits pose specific challenges - Phillip Island, Catalunya and Sepang for example. But Estoril has proved very difficult because of the weather and track conditions constantly changing. It is very close to the Atlantic, there are often very strong winds that cools tyres down quickly and make it difficult for riders, particularly the lighter 125cc guys, to change direction. In drying track conditions the track becomes very abrasive, and the type of asphalt is not consistent over the entire lap. All in all, a complex and technically demanding track, even if it is the slowest on the GP calendar - and one with very unpredictable and changing weather!

Matt Mladin retires on a high with seventh AMA Superbike championship win...

Since his arrival in the USA in 1996 rider Mat Mladin has been rarely beatable in the AMA Superbike Cham-pionship. Dominating the championship again this year, he has already clinched yet another AMA Superbike title, making it an incredible seven championship wins in ten years, all on Dunlop tyres. Mladin’s impressive seven AMA titles include 82 AMA superbike race wins, 62 pole positions. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider claimed his seventh AMA title at the Virginia Interna-tional Raceway last month, and will go to the final round at New Jersey on September 4th-6th already wearing the number 1 plate, a special tribute from the AMA to their most prolific champion. having announced his re-tirement and decision to return home to Australia at the end of this season, 2009 will be the last title for the most successful rider in AMA Superbike history.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

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The Rookies Cup could not have had a more dramatic finale. Going into the final weekend at the Cardion AB Brno GP, Sturla Fagerhaug from Norway and Czech hero Jakub Kornfeil were equal on points. The Rookies had two races over the weekend that on Saturday involved a 10 rider battle to the flag. Fagerhaug finished 5th and Kornfeil 8th, giving the Norwegian a three point lead going into the Sunday final. The 16 year old Czech had to fight all the way over the 13 laps with his arch rival Fagerhaug, but when the Norwegian came together with Japanese rider Daijiro hiura three corners from the flag his chance of victory disappeared, and Kornfeil won the race and the Cup in front of his home crowd by just 0.1 seconds and 2 points!

KoRNFEIL wINS ThE 2009 RED BULL MoToGP RooKIES CUP oN hoME SoIL

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Motocross world Championship stalwart, Antti Pyrhonen, fulfilled a lifetime ambition with his Dunlop-gripped Team Finnsco Racing honda by winning the thirteenth round of fifteen in the MX3 series at Vantaa, Finland recently. The rider, who is currently third in the large-bore category and still within a shout of winning the 2009 title, rode on Dunlop D773F tyres. The D773F’s, specifically designed to tackle the sand and soft mud circuits to devastating effect, outperformed the Pirelli shod rivals at Vantaa to power Pyrhonen to victory. he triumphed in both motos at his home event and was deservedly feted by a large partisan crowd as he became the first Finn to claim a GP event this century. “I was under pressure here and wanted this win so much; now my dreams have come true,” he said. “over 350 people from my sponsors were here, also my friends and thousands of spectators; this was an important win.” Vantaa represented the second success this season for the veteran and extended his chain of moto victories to four.DOWNLOAD IMAGE

DUNLoP D773F’S PowER PYRhoNEN To hoME GP GLoRY

www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu

/ race-derived multi-tread technology for outstanding straight-line traction and increased cornering grip

/ faster warm-up and excellent grip in both wet and dry conditions

/ carcass tension control system (ctcs) for enhanced contact patch and greater stability

/ Jointless belt (Jlb) rear tire for high speed stability and shock absorption

Race bRed. Fully Road qualiFied.THe new SpoRTmax qualiFieR ii

‘THe moST veRSaTile dunlop TyRe HaS been ReinvenTed: THiS iS THe qualiFieR ii. HoneST on THe TRack, exalTing on weT and dRy condiTionS wiTH opTimum gRip: SinceRiTy and manageabiliTy aRe iTS STRongeST poinTS.’

Jacopo Zizza, (Italy) MOTOCICLISMO - 04/2009

‘THe cHaRacTeRiSTicS oF THe qualiFieR ii makeS iT exTRemely veRSaTile in uSe, cauSing iT To peRFoRm well FoR boTH RaceTRack and SpoRTS TouRing needS.’

Peter Schmidt, (Germany) GUMMIBEREIFUNG - 04/2009

‘Handling capabiliTy, gRip, good on weT, eFFicienTly upgRaded, wiTH THe objecTive To bRing THe qualiFieR ii aT THe Top oF THe league.’

Jean-Francois Robert, (France) MOTO JOURNAL 04/2009

‘iT’S cleaR dunlop HaS puT iTSelF on Top oF THe SpoRTS bike TyRe pile.’

Michael Neeves, (UK) MCN - 04/2009

‘aFTeR THe TeSTing oF THe TyRe aT THe miReval launcH, i am convinced by THe qualiTy oF qualiFieR ii, THaT´S wHy i will oRdeR THem FoR my bike aS well.’

Renaud Amand, (Belgium) MOTORRIJdER 04/2009