From a press release issued by Vreeke & Associates, Dunlop’s advertising and PR agency:

Dunlop previews AMA road races at Pikes Peak International Raceway

Fountain, CO-Dunlop Motorcycle Tire Company, winner of 18 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Superbike titles, including the last 14 in a row, anticipates another exciting round of racing at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) in Fountain, Colorado this weekend, the fifth stop on the 2004 Superbike tour.

“We’re bringing about 1650 tires with us,” said Jim Allen, U.S. manager of road racing. “The road course at PPIR generates a lot of heat on the left side of the tires, because so many of the turns are left-hand oriented.” Indeed, left-hand turns dominate the road course and the one-mile, counter-clockwise oval compounds the tire challenge.

The greatest demand on tires is exerted by the Superbikes, highly-modified, 1000cc versions of production-based open-class sport motorcycles. The factory teams of Honda Racing, Erion Racing and Yoshimura Suzuki will have a selection of four different Dunlop front tire compounds – and an equal number of rear tire choices – to select from during practice and qualifying. In addition, riders will have extra-high traction rear “qualifying” tires available to set the fastest lap times possible as they jockey for the coveted pole-position on the front row.

The AMA’s newly-revised Superstock class, which features nearly-stock 1000cc open-class sport motorcycles, also puts great demands on tires. The factory teams in this class – represented by Erion Racing, Kawasaki Road Racing, Attack Kawasaki, Yoshimura Suzuki and Graves Motorsports Yamaha – will have three compound choices each for front and rear racing tires. Qualifying tires will be available, as well.

Dunlop also supplies tires for nearly all of the leading teams in 600cc Supersport and Formula Xtreme competition.

“It takes a big effort to handle this many tires for one event. We only run one Superbike round at PPIR, compared to two Superbike races at most venues, which means we have just one chance to nail down the setup,” said Allen. “But we’ve got a very experienced crew and we look forward to helping these guys getting around the course as quickly as possible, lap after lap.”

Entering round eight of the Superbike series, Suzuki’s Mat Mladin leads with 243 points, followed closely by Honda’s Miguel Duhamel with 218 and Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke with 216. Mladin and Duhamel have taken one race each in the last two doubleheaders. The two veterans have won a combined 57 AMA Superbike races between them (Mladin leads Duhamel 29 to 28) while rookie Zemke has missed his first Superbike victory in the last three races by the narrowest of margins. A strong performance last week at Barber Motorsports Park by Dunlop-supported Josh Hayes of Attack Kawasaki saw him finish in sixth-place, right behind the five Dunlop-supported factory riders – Duhamel, Zemke, Mladin, Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Honda Racing’s Ben Bostrom.

In the hotly-contested Superstock series, Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking leads his teammates Aaron Gobert and Damon Buckmaster 135 to 118 and 115 points, respectively. Kawasaki Road Racing’s Tommy Hayden sits in fourth with 112 points, followed by Yamaha’s Jason Disalvo, Hayden’s teammate and brother, Roger Lee Hayden, and Suzuki’s Ben Spies.


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 contact visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.