Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

According to series boss Colin Fraser, points leader Pascal Picotte predicted a second catastrophic Dunlop rear tire failure during a riders’ meeting held at Mosport, following Jeff Williams’ top-gear fall on Saturday of the double-header Canadian Superbike weekend.

True to Picotte’s prediction, the rear tire on Steve Crevier’s GSX-R1000 exploded during Sunday’s Superbike race, throwing him off his bike at an estimated 170 mph.

Riders encountered a rash of issues with Dunlop 17-inch slicks at Mosport, with Williams, Picotte and Crevier all pitting for new rear tires after encountering abnormal tire vibration during practice.

Race organizers were so concerned with Picotte’s prediction that they instructed Dunlop riders to install new tires during an early red-flag break in Sunday’s Superbike race. Although Crevier’s crew did that, his tire failed during the restarted race.

According to Fraser, the tires that failed are being sent to Dunlop R&D headquarters in England for analysis. Fraser told Roadracingworld.com that Dunlop officials have denied charges made by Canadian teams that the company has been selling rejected tires from the AMA series in Canada.

Bikes run in the Canadian Superbike Series are limited to 170 horsepower and are regularly checked on a mobile Dynojet dyno following qualifying and races. Crevier was docked 13 starting positions after qualifying at a previous round in Calgary, where his bike dynoed at 173.8 horsepower. Race organizers also use a radar gun to make sure top speeds reflect performance on the dyno.


See related post:

7/19/2004 Exploding Dunlops At Mosport Sent Crevier, Williams Down The Road At 170+ mph