Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Four-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin said he wants to sit out the 2004 Daytona 200 because he’s worried about Dunlop’s recent tire failures caused by heavy, high-powered racebikes and the demands of the high-speed racetrack.

“With all the problems that happened yesterday again here at Daytona with tires, I don’t like my chances of being back here for the race on the Superbike,” Mladin told Roadracingworld.com Wednesday morning, referring to Jason DiSalvo’s tire failure and crash Tuesday at the Speedway. “Because to me you’re just playing Russian Roulette, and something’s going to happen one day, and I don’t want it to happen to me. Simply because we’ve outgrown this racetrack, full-stop.

“You’re playing Russian Roulette with this racetrack now with the performance of the motorcycles, a lot of power, a lot of torque being put through, a lot of load on the bikes. The bikes are getting heavier, which doesn’t help.

“I’ll do my absolute best to see that I don’t have to come and race here in March. I prefer to start with a 37-point deficit than come and race here.

“When there’s kids out there and the kids are worried about what’s going to happen to them, the riders, and they speak to you about it (pauses) that plays on your own conscience. When you’ve got a 19-year-old kid on your team (Ben Spies) and he’s thrown down the road at 186 mph two months ago…these kids haven’t even done anything with their lives yet and they’re already worried about having to ride at Daytona.

“I remember when I was 19 when I was racing Superbike I was care-free. I had no worries, none at all. But I knew nothing like this was going to happen. Now everyone sits on the bike and goes around the banking wondering if they’re going to end up in the wall at 185-190 mph. At that plays on my conscience.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

One of the things that has always attracted me to professional sports in general and motor sports specifically, is the level of commitment and concentration that the top athletes must attain and maintain throughout the course of their seasons. This is perhaps nowhere more important than motorcycle road racing. Call it what you will; getting your “race face” on, being “in the zone”, for the top riders it is an absolute necessity that they operate at optimum levels for extended periods of time. To do this, one must have unquestioning faith in one’s equipment. A confidence that allows peak performance with no distraction in a sport where a miscalculation at speed can cause grave harm not only to the rider, but his fellow competitors. This elevated state of “tune” is a crucial component to a successful season. It can be the difference between just being on the front row and taking pole position. Being in the points hunt and winning a championship. Most importantly, it can be the difference between finishing the race and crashing out.

It seems as if there is a sickness in the AMA paddock right now. A sickness that up to now has shown no signs of getting better. It is a creeping disease borne of a lack of confidence in one’s equipment.

The sickness began to appear this past AMA season, with multiple Dunlop riders having tire problems at various tracks. Tires were chunking at an alarming rate. Dunlop couldn’t (and, I think it’s important to point out, didn’t) point the finger at riders who were traditionally hard on tires (Kurtis Roberts), bikes that had too much horsepower (the GSXR’s) or tracks that were just too hard on tires (Daytona). The failures happened to different riders at different tracks, and in different conditions. They occurred on four cylinders and twins and in both the early and late stages of races. Eventually and maybe inevitably, one let go with a bang. Mat Mladin’s wild ride at Road Atlanta was a butt-clencher just to watch on television. I can only imagine what it felt like from his perspective. Thankfully, he rode it out (mostly) and was able to walk away from what could have been a major incident. Subsequent events would prove that Mladin’s frightening episode was a harbinger of things to come.

Flash forward to Daytona, October of this year. Ben Spies crashes spectacularly at 186 mph after a rear Dunlop fails. My initial reaction was “what the hell”? “Dunlop has been having problems all year and presumably working diligently to solve the issues, and this is what they came up with”? Thankfully, Spies walks away from the crash with relatively minor injuries. Surely this is the wake-up call that Dunlop needs to make whatever effort necessary to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Whatever resources they have at their disposal are surely being used to eliminate this threat to the safety of the riders. I believed this. I believed it because Dunlop is a reputable company with a storied history in motor sports. Not only here in America with the AMA, but all over the world in many forms of racing. They have a guy in Jim Allen who has the experience and intelligence to effectively communicate with the riders and teams and relay their needs to the Dunlop factory. Dunlop employs some of the most cutting edge R&D procedures and manufacturing techniques in the world. They have the resources and knowledge necessary to effectively eliminate failures in their products. All of the components were in place. That’s why I believed in Dunlop. That’s why I was virtually certain nothing like what happened to Ben Spies would happen again.

I was certain until yesterday when, during tire testing, Jason DiSalvo skipped down the Daytona pavement at better than 180 mph without his motorcycle after another Dunlop slick came apart at speed. Like Spies, DiSalvo seems to crash well and walks away with only a headache and some toasty skin. Dunlop pulls the plug on further use of their slicks and asks all of the teams to return any slick tires they had received for the test.

There seems no doubt that the problems that plagued Dunlop last season remain a problem still.

So, where does this leave Dunlop, and where does it leave the teams and riders who have to come to Daytona, three short months from now, and compete lap after lap at speeds approaching 200 mph?

The way I see it, there are only two possible scenarios. In scenario number one, Dunlop provides a tire that is capable of handling the rigors of sustained speed on the Daytona banking by March. In Scenario two, the Superbikes (and quite possibly the Superstock bikes) don’t race at Daytona this year. As a racer and race fan, I hate to envision March without the Superbikes running at Daytona. Logically, however, I find this scenario to be as likely as Dunlop coming up with a solution to the problem in time. If they have had all of last season and the off season until now to fix the problem, why should I assume that their efforts in the next 90 days will prove more fruitful?

At his point, there are perhaps more questions than answers. Is Dunlop providing a faulty product? Are the bikes getting too powerful, too heavy, or both? Are the teams and riders partially at fault for constantly pushing Dunlop to provide higher and higher levels of grip in their never ending quest for lower lap times?

I think Jim Allen hit the nail on the head when he suggested on a couple of occasions, and I’m paraphrasing here, that maybe Dunlop hadn’t done a good enough job just telling the riders: “Here you go. This is what you have to race on”. In other words, create a product you know is safe and distribute it that way whether the riders and teams like it or not. I know Dunlop has the capability to construct a tire that will last at Daytona. I just can’t buy the weight and speed argument. If airline tires can hold together under the weight of a fully loaded jumbo jet landing, a motorcycle tire can be constructed that will stand up to 200 mph on the high banks. Will it have to be a harder compound than the teams want? Probably. Will it need to have a thicker/heavier carcass with more material? Most assuredly. Will it have less overall grip in the infield and raise lap times? No doubt. Will the competition or spectator’s enjoyment suffer? Not a bit.

Motorcycle racing is inherently dangerous. No reasonable person could argue otherwise. The riders accept this risk as part of their job and do everything in their power to reduce the chances of bringing harm on themselves or others during a race. Their close partners in this endeavor are the equipment manufacturers, especially their tire supplier. The latest Superbikes are making close to (some say more than) 200 hp and weigh less than 400 lbs. They circulate the track and rail through the corners on a small patch of rubber that is maybe the size if a silver dollar. That contact patch is the rider’s very lifeline when competing. Sending him or her out on a tire that has a known tendency to fail under certain conditions is akin to sending a soldier into battle with a gun that might blow up in his hand. It could cost him his life.

Tony Shortman
Las Vegas, Nevada



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:


I’m going to have to comment on this one. What a load of bollocks! The only people afraid at Daytona are the ones who are wearing the Dunlop skins on their bikes. Send ’em out with Pirelli or Michelin and you wouldn’t be reporting this at all. If I remember correctly, Daytona wasn’t the only track in which tire failures happened last year.

Dunlop….you’ve got a problem I’d say. Especially with the confidence of your riders.

Darick Pash
CMRA Amateur #123
Abilene, Texas


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I’ve been reading about Jason DiSalvo’s tire failure yesterday at DIS and the uproar it caused with the riders. I agree with them that Superbikes and Superstock bikes should no longer race at Daytona. The bikes have become too powerful and it’s obvious tire technology has not kept up. It’s become too much of a safety issue.

I would hate for there not to be a Daytona 200 next year, however. That’s always been my favorite race of the season to watch. So as a compromise, why not make the 200 a Supersport or Formula Extreme race? The 600s don’t have the tire problems the bigger bikes have, and the racing would be just as good, if not better!

Mark Dolente
CCS #927
Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Regarding Mladin and Daytona, I know there are those who will say he doesn’t want to race at Daytona because of the times the other teams are turning, but does that make his point less valid? The track is not an accident waiting to happen – the accidents have happened! The track is now a massive injury (or injuries) or fatality (or fatalities) waiting to happen. If one of these tire failures happens in a pack, then what?

It is time for either a MASSIVE layout change at Daytona or to remove the track from the schedule. It is an aberration as a track now with it’s layout, and has little to do with the rest of the AMA schedule, yet requires a HUGE layout of cash to run. Want to save the privateers (and factories, for that matter – and tire manufacturers as well) a bundle of cash? Scratch this race in it’s current format before someone is killed.

One man’s opinion – no wait, it’s Mat’s, too! And Spies, I believe, as well. I’m guessing DiSalvo may agree as well…

Gary Hilliard
Felton, Delaware

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Number, Rider, Country, Machine, Team
3, Max Biaggi, Italy, Honda RC211V, Pramac Honda Pons

4, Alex Barros, Brazil, Yamaha YZR-M1, Fortuna Yamaha

6, Makoto Tamada, Japan, Honda RC211V, Pramac Honda Pons

7, Carlos Checa, Spain, Yamaha YZR-M1, Gauloises Yamaha Team

9, Nobuatso Aoki, Japan, Proton KR5, Proton Team KR

10, Kenny Roberts, USA, Suzuki GSV-R, Suzuki Grand Prix Team

11, Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, D’Antin MotoGP

12, Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, Ducati Marlboro Team

15, Sete Gibernau, Spain, Honda RC211V, Telefonica Movistar Honda

21, John Hopkins, USA, Suzuki GSV-R, Suzuki Grand Prix Team

33, Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha YZR-M1, Fortuna Yamaha Team

45, Colin Edwards, USA, Honda RC211V, Telefonica Movistar Honda

46, Valentino Rossi, Italy, Yamaha YZF-M1, Gauloises Yamaha Team

56, Shinya Nakano, Japan, Kawasaki ZX-RR, Kawasaki Racing Team

65, Loris Capirossi, Italy, Ducati, Ducati Marlboro Team

66, Alex Hofmann, Germany, Kawasaki ZX-RR, Kawasaki Racing Team

67, Shane Byrne, Great Britain, Aprilia RS3, Aprilia Racing

69, Nicky Hayden, USA, Honda RC211V, Repsol Honda

80, Kurtis Roberts, USA, Proton KR5, Proton Team KR

99, Jeremy McWilliams, Great Britain, Aprilia, Aprilia Racing

TBA, Neil Hodgson, Great Britain, Ducati, D’Antin MotoGP

TBA, Honda, Repsol Honda

TBA, Harris WCM, WCM

TBA, Harris WCM, WCM



And now, some reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

There are indeed, as you pointed out, five Americans riding MotoGP next year. I did the math and discovered that America is represented in MotoGP more than any other nation! The next-closest country is Italy with four riders. Spain, Great Britain and Japan each have three riders and Germany and Australia have only one rider each.

The story used to be that there’s few Americans in MotoGP because the series sponsors are mostly European companies and the sponsors like their own home-boys doing the work. Another reason I have read is that many of the MotoGP riders have their own sponsorships that allow them to “buy” their way onto a team.

I don’t know how so many Americans landed in MotoGP, but it sure is great!

Forget the sugarplums, I have visions of all-American podiums in MotoGP, dancing in my head!

Andy Schwarm
Monrovia, California

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Representatives from Dunlop held a series of meetings with teams prior to the start of the tire test at Daytona International Speedway to explain the catastrophic tire failure suffered by racer Ben Spies during testing at the Speedway in October and to set the riders’ minds at ease.

Spies fell from his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike October 13 during tire testing at Daytona when his rear Dunlop exploded as he crossed the start/finish line at a radar-measured 186 mph.

The 19-year-old Texan suffered serious skin abrasions in his long slide on the pavement, has undergone skin graft operations to repair the damage and has been out of action and unable to train since the incident.

“They were just trying to put our mind at ease and explain (Spies’ tire failure) to us,” American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel said Tuesday after the end of on-track activities at Daytona. “They had little graphs and charts and stuff. It shows a lot of the company as big as Dunlop taking time to sit everybody down and set their mind at ease.”

Duhamel’s teammate Ben Bostrom was also present at the meeting between Dunlop officials and Honda team members Sunday, December 7 and was encouraged by what the Dunlop men told him.

“The good thing is they found it, they found out what went wrong (with Spies’ tire),” Bostrom told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “They said they tripled or quadrupled the strength of the part they had the problem with. It was a big confidence builder for sure.”

Speaking early Tuesday morning at Daytona, Dunlop Senior Road Race Manager Jim Allen acknowledged the problem encountered with Spies’ tire and said Dunlop had found the answer. “Obviously with the problem we had with Ben Spies in October there’s been a whole lot of emphasis on finding out exactly what went wrong with that tire. We did finally get the answer to that, and once that was done, we were able to start producing tires for this test,” Allen told Roadracingworld.com.

However, Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo crashed late Tuesday afternoon at Daytona when the rear tire on his 2004 Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock racer failed coming out of NASCAR Turn Four.

“Hopefully what happened to (Jason) DiSalvo was something else,” said Duhamel. “They (Dunlop) care a lot. They’ve been in racing forever. They’ve supported the American racing, my racing, forever. It’s just bad. Like I said, we’ll just wait and see what comes out, but they are definitely trying hard.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roger Lee Hayden turned the fastest lap time among 600cc riders Wednesday, the final day of Dunlop tire testing at Daytona International Speedway.

In warm but windy conditions that slowed all riders’ times, Hayden turned a 1:53.040 on his new Kawasaki ZX-6RR.

According to Kawasaki team members, the extensive changes in the 2004-model Kawasaki ZX-6RR engine have already resulted in a five percent horsepower gain over the team’s 2003 racebikes, and the 2004 racebike is largely undeveloped.

Adding more credibility to the newest Kawasaki, Tommy Hayden was second-fastest on his ZX-6RR Wednesday with a 1:53.167, faster that all three of the factory Yamahas YZF-R6s.

Unable to do further testing on his ZX-10R Superstock bike, Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes took teammate Tony Meiring’s ZX-6RR out for a stint this morning, found the bike to his liking and said he missed racing 600cc machines.

Hayes will race Superstock and Superbike on Attack Kawasaki ZX-10Rs, according to team owner Richard Staboli.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel continued testing his CBR600RR Formula Xtreme bike Wednesday, but Erion Honda has loaded its FX racer into its truck and is preparing to leave the Speedway at the end of the day.

Teams broke for lunch at approximately 12:20 p.m. local time. Testing will resume later in the afternoon.

Wednesday morning lap times (as provided by AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring):

1. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:53.040
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:53.167
3. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.168
4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.194
5. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.500
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:54.208
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:54.709
8. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:55.448

From a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing:

TEST VALENCIA/1st day

First day of testing for the Aprilia Racing Team in Valencia. Because of the rain fallen during the night, the test session could start only in the early afternoon when the track got dried and the temperature raised a little bit.

For Shane Byrne it was the first time to ride on this track so, much of the work done was firstly focused on learning the new track and secondly it was a good occasion for riding with the other MotoGP riders.

Today in fact there were in total fourteen riders (official and test riders) on track, In addition to the Aprilia Racing Team there were also Marlboro Ducati Team, the second Ducati team run by D’Antin, Team Honda Pons, Honda Gresini, Pramac Honda and Proton.

“Shakey” Shane Byrne completed with satisfaction almost sixty laps, a good result considering that there was not enough time to test. In fact, in total he rode no more than two hours and a half. He focused on learning the new track and taking the point of references. Lap by lap he improved his lap time and the riding became smoother and smoother; 1:37.60 was his best lap time .

Meanwhile the experienced test rider Marcellino Lucchi ran through development parts of the new bike.

The test is due to continue tomorrow and conclude on Friday.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former racer turned tuner Rob Tuluie has been named head of R&D for the Renault Formula One car racing team.

Tuluie, 39, will be based at the team headquarters in Enstone, England, about 20 miles north of Oxford.

His duties will include lab testing, crash testing and stiffness testing, and he will also be involved in pure research, investigating new technology.

Tuluie will report for duty February 2.

Prior to accepting the job with the F1 team, Tuluie worked as a Systems Engineer in the Advanced Systems Division and as a Test Consulting Engineer in Motorsports, both positions with MTS Systems Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Tuluie is best known in motorcycling circles for his home-built Tul-Aris road racer and for his Yamaha YZ450F SuperMoto racebike ridden by Doug Henry.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Graves Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo crashed at 172 mph Tuesday during tire testing at Daytona International Speedway when the Dunlop rear tire failed on his Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock racebike.

Looking surprisingly well, DiSalvo returned to the Speedway Wednesday and spoke with Roadracingworld.com about his get-off.

“The tires were working great through the infield and up until that point, actually,” said DiSalvo. “They were spinning like normal. You’re like sideways on the banking the whole way around. For me, I can’t go wide open on the banking until I’m a quarter of the way around.

“I had it pinned. I started to drop down and apexed (NASCAR Turn) four. Just as I was letting it drift back out, I was in there tucked and the next thing I knew I was sideways and it highsided me.

“I kind of remember it chattered like four times, I started to roll off the gas and I highsided – all within the course of a second. It was totally nuts. And it was completely unexpected, too. It gave no warning signs at all, no vibrations, nothing like that.

“I was smoking it up pretty good, but I talked to the tire technicians from Dunlop. They said that doesn’t hurt the tire at all. It just creates surface heat. It doesn’t really create the kind of heat that’s bad, the core heat. They said, ‘You can spin that thing all you want. You’re not hurting it.’

“We were doing race distance. I was on my 11th lap. Up until then I was 1:49s and 1:50s the whole time. I only did one 1:51.1, and that’s because I ran way wide in turn one. But I was solid 1:49-1:50 the whole time, which I think is a pretty good 200 pace. I was pretty stoked.”

Although he suffered a mild concussion and temporary memory loss immediately after the incident Tuesday, DiSalvo remembered every detail of his nearly 400-foot slide down the straightaway.

“I went off and hit my back first,’ said DiSalvo. “That’s where all the bruising and friction burns are, on my back. Then I was sliding on my back and my side mainly. I tried to move around because everything was getting real hot. I used my hands because I was trying to steer myself away from the outside wall. Then I remember going through on my elbows real quick. As soon as it went through on my elbows, I dug my heel in and flipped myself up so I could start rolling. I rolled and rolled and rolled. That was hurting pretty bad, so I laid back down and started to slide again. I actually got positioned right on my back protector, so I could keep everything (arms and legs) up. Then my back protector started to get hot, too, so I dug my heel in again and started to roll some more. And that’s when I finally stopped. They say it was more than a football field that I slid.”

DiSalvo suffered extensive friction burns and bruising over much of his back but only a few small abrasions on his hands and elbows where his gloves and leathers burned through.

“Even though I feel pretty stiff and sore today, they asked me if I wanted to ride today and I actually had to think about it. It’s only a test, so why go out there and put my body through more. If it was race day, there’s no doubt I would ride. I think I could do pretty good, too,” boasted the 19-year-old New Yorker.

In fact, DiSalvo said the whole incident did little to shake his confidence in Dunlop’s tires. “If Dunlop says they’ve got a tire that will last for the race then that’s cool with me,” DiSalvo told Roadracingworld.com. “They said that this tire would last race-distance, but there’s so many variables. Maybe there was debris on the track. Maybe it was a one-off bad tire. Nobody knows. If they said they could give me a tire that would do race distance then I would ride on it for sure.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA and Daytona International Speedway officials have contacted or plan to contact representatives from Michelin and Pirelli, to ask them to test tires at the Florida track on January 25-26, 2004. Dunlop will also attend the test.

The AMA and Daytona officials are trying to determine if the recent serious tire woes experienced by Dunlop riders at the Speedway are symptomatic of a problem with 1000cc Superbikes and Superstock machines or if they are related to some problem with Dunlop’s design, construction or quality control.

An exploding 16.5-inch Dunlop slick on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike sent Ben Spies sliding at 186 mph at Daytona in October, and an exploding 17-inch Dunlop slick on a Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock bike threw Jason DiSalvo at 172 mph yesterday.

No tires run on Superbike and Superstock racebikes exploded during a Michelin tire test at Daytona December 4-6. During that test, 16.5-inch Superbike slicks were tested on Ducati Austin 999 Superbikes and on Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000s in Superstock trim. Valvoline EMGO Suzuki also tested 17-inch treaded tires and slicks on the GSX-R1000s, at Michelin’s request. The Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000s reached 182.5 mph across the tri-oval during the test, while the Ducati Austin 999 reached 184 mph, measured with a radar gun.

Pirelli Racing Manager Jeff Johnston, reached via cell phone while he was visiting West Coast Pirelli racing tire distributors Wednesday, said that he has not heard anything from Daytona or AMA officials about the proposed emergency tire test at the Florida Superspeedway.

“We would love to come down and test on those days and will be able to give a firm commitment after I speak to our international racing manager, Eddie Roberts,” said Johnston. “We’ve never had a problem with a steel-belted-radial tire at Daytona, and we’ve been racing there with our steel-belted radials since 1995. While it’s a unique layout and racetrack, for us it’s really about compound development rather than about safety development. Of course, both are related to an extent. At this upcoming test with good teams and good equipment we should be able to turn more-than-competitive times with our current product, and think we would still have enough time to develop some new tires to test, also. Pirelli has consistently proven with excellent results at Daytona that we make products that are up to the task in terms of competitive lap times and in terms of providing riders with a safe product to compete on.”

From a press release issued by Dunlop:

Dunlop increases AMA road racing support in 2004

Daytona Beach, FL, – Dunlop Motorcycle Tires has intensified its tire development program in the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, and Dunlop-sponsored tire tests in the coming 2004 season. In the past, Dunlop’s U.S. racing effort has been supported by product and technical assistance from Dunlop United Kingdom (U.K.). This collaboration has resulted in the development of specialty tires for the vast majority of racetracks on today’s AMA calendar. The uniqueness of many American circuits demands this specialized development program. As a result of our commitment to this ongoing program, Dunlop has won more AMA road racing championships than all the other tires manufacturers combined.

For 2004, Dunlop will increase its commitment to AMA road racing with additional support from Dunlop U.K. This support will include technical engineering and service engineering personnel on hand at every AMA Superbike round. “As a result of the regulation changes in the World Superbike Championship, we now have the opportunity to acquire the services of those individuals previously responsible for Dunlop’s World Superbike tire development,” said Dunlop Senior Road Race Manager, Jim Allen.

“The combination of top riders, and world class equipment with unique power and weight characteristics provides an opportunity to further our tire development,” remarked Dunlop U.K.’s Manager ­ Motorcycle Race, David Watkins.

“Dunlop recognizes the AMA Superbike series is now the premier Superbike class in the world,” said Dunlop’s Mike Buckley, Vice President of Motorcycle Tires. “We are excited that the AMA series will represent the cutting-edge of our tire development, and are looking forward to an increased level of development with the talented teams and riders on the AMA circuit. Increasing Dunlop’s technical support in the U.S. to the World Championship level could not have come at a better time. Motorcycle technology is growing rapidly and the riders in the AMA series are pushing the limit.”

In preparation for the upcoming year and for the 63rd Daytona 200, Dunlop is proud to host the 2003 Dunlop Daytona Tire Test, December 8-10. The annual three-day event, which started over a decade ago, is used to develop and test racing tires specifically for use during the series opener at Daytona International Speedway on March 6. On hand for the Daytona Tire Test are Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha factory teams, as well as the Attack Kawasaki, Graves Motorsports Yamaha, and Erion Racing Honda teams.

In the AMA’s 600 Supersport and 750 Superstock classes, Dunlop racers have won a mind-boggling 32 out of a possible 33 championships, including both titles once again in 2003. In the ultra-competitive, high-profile AMA Superbike class, Dunlop has won 18 titles, including the last 14 in a row – an unprecedented streak.