Birmingham, AL April 20, 2005 Dunlop Motorcycle Tires arrived at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for the second round of the 2005 AMA Superbike Series, April 22-24, with a number of tire choices for the factory Superbike and support teams. This weekend’s Honda Superbike Classic occurs almost a month earlier than last year. The seasonably cooler weather, together with the track surface, will factor into the teams’ tire selections. “The track surface is not as green as last year and the asphalt is not as abrasive,” said Jim Allen, Dunlop’s U.S. manager of road racing. “We’re not seeing as much wear on the front tires, but overall the teams have been going with the harder compounds in practice sessions, not unlike last year.” Dunlop brought nearly 1500 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in Superbike, Superstock, Formula Xtreme and Supersport. For the factory Superbike teams, there will be four front and four rear tire compound selections. And for the first time at Barber, all Superbike rear tire options will be multi-compound “new generation” designs. “The teams have been using these tires since the mid-point of the 2004 season and they all prefer the combination of a harder center tread compound, which helps straight-line traction and stability, and a relatively softer compound on the shoulders of the tire for improved cornering,” said Allen. For the 1000cc machines of the Superstock class, Dunlop will offer four front and three rear compounds from which the teams can choose. The riders of the highly-modified 600cc Formula Xtreme machines will sort through three front and three rear compound options, and the 600cc Supersport factory teams will choose from two front and two rear compounds formulated for Dunlop’s new DOT-approved Sportmax GP tires. The Sportmax GP rear tire features a multi-compound design that performed extremely well in round one at Daytona in March the Sportmax GP took the first five positions on its way to a podium sweep. Spring weather in Alabama can turn stormy in minutes, but Dunlop is prepared. “We’ve brought along about 250 rain tires just in case,” said Allen. This includes “intermediate” tires for damp conditions – which are hand-cut versions of the compounds noted above and full rain tires, from which the riders can select from two front and two rear tread patterns. To read Dunlop’s race weekend summary, be sure to visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com. 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.