IN TOUCH MOTORSPORT NEWS ISSUE 13 SEPTEMBER ’10

DUNLOP TAKE VICTORY AT 74TH BOL D’OR

THIS ISSUE: BMW AND PERFORM AT SPA CIV SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE TOP TEN EUROPEATHISN TRACK ISSUE: DAYS REVEALED dunlop enters mx1-gp DOWNLOAD IMAGE CZECH REP. GP BRNO Moto2

Date: 15/08/2010 Track name: Brno Track length: 5403 m. Track temp: 30 ° C / Ambient temp: 24 ° C Spectators: 148,120

TYRE SPECS FOR THIS RACE Front: C - Medium, Single-Tread E - Hard, Single Tread Rear: C - Medium F - Medium Asymmetric

Brno in the Czech Republic traditionally opens the second half of the MotoGP Season and the 5.4 km circuit with its dramatic changes of elevation poses severe strain tyres, the downhill sections demanding very hard front compounds. The weekend saw changeable weather with the Sunday morning warm-up sessions and the 125cc race run on wet tyres whilst the track was almost fully dry for the Moto2 race.

Technomag CIP’s Shoya Tomizawa prevented Fimmco rider from making it four pole position in a row, claiming the premium grid position with a qualifying time of 2’03.452. Iannone took the second grid position posting a time 0.232 seconds behind Tomizawa, followed by current championship leader Gresini Moriwaki’s Toni Elias (+0.289) and Roberto Rolfo on the Italtrans Suter bike (+0.342).

The race started badly for Iannone with him immediately back to 10th position, whilst Tomizawa stayed at the front of the leading pack for the first 3 laps, before engine problems caused him to slow and drop down the order. Lap 6 saw Iannone return to the race lead which he managed to extend whilst the chasing pack which was headed by Rolfo until he was forced to retire with an engine problem 8 laps before the finish. Toni Elias managed to pick away at Iannone’s lead once he broke free of the chasing group, consistently running in the 2’04s, before taking the lead on lap 12. Iannone then struggled to hold on to second position, as ’s posted consistent fast laps, finally taking Iannone on the 18th lap to ensure his second podium of the season just 2.312 seconds behind Elias. Iannone completed the Podium with on the bike finishing in fourth followed by Mapfre Aspar’s Julian Simon. The result means that Elias extends his lead in the championship to 55pts on 161pts.

“I felt I had a good rhythm to lap in 2.04 throughout the race,” said Tony Elias, “and once I got my down, I could retain this pace, setting the fastest lap on L16 of the 20 lap race.”

“It’s quite apparent that riders are picking up on the benefits of the asymmetric tyre, as most comments from the weekend were about the improved left hand grip and faster heat up time that it gave” commented Clinton Howe, Dunlop Race Engineer. “This was also apparent in the cooler and damp conditions that were witnessed.” DOWNLOAD IMAGE REDBULL INDIANAPOLIS GP MOTO2

Date: 29/08/2010 Track name: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track length: 4195 m. Track temp: 52 ° C / Ambient temp: 34 ° C Spectators: 62,794

TYRE SPECS FOR THIS RACE Front: C - Medium, Single Tread E - Hard, Single Tread Rear: C - Medium D - Medium Hard

Indianapolis is like no other circuit on the MotoGP calendar. A mixture of the oval, the F1 circuit built in 1999 and the complex specifically built for MotoGP in 2007. This means three different surfaces, with different grip levels and some really bumpy corners.

Mapfre Aspar’s Julian Simon claimed his first pole position of the season with a 1’46.139. Marc VDS team mates Hector Faubel and Scott Redding achieved their first front row starts in second and third respectively alongside (JIR – Motobi) in fourth with a time of 1’46.334. Championship leader Toni Elias Qualified in sixth, whilst his closest rival Andrea Iannone, lined up in 26th due to a crash early on in the session.

The race started with immediate incident as eight riders crashed out, in two separate incidents, in turn 2. The red flags were raised and the grid was reformed for a shortened 17lap race. Toni Elias immediately took command of the lead after the restart, as Simon and Redding joined him and broke away from the chasing pack. Simon took the lead on lap five and held off Elias until the ex MotoGP rider retook the lead on lap 12 and brought home the win. Scott Redding completed a successful weekend with his first podium of the year crossing the line in third 3.822 seconds behind Simon. Andrea Iannone climbed from 25th to fourth after his Qualifying crash, whilst Simone Corsi crossed the line just behind him having started from the back of the grid for the shortened race. Toni Elias now leads the championship with 186pts, ahead of Iannone (119pts) with Thomas Luthi in joint fourth with Simon, on 108pts.

Toni Elias quote: “I have been suffering from fever all week, and was not sure I could race in this heat. I tried to save what little energy I had for the last five laps. Tyres were again consistent, and the fact that I set my fastest lap of the race on the last one confirms this”.

“Both specs of front and rear performed well, with consistent lap times in high track temperatures” commented John Higgins, Dunlop Engineer. “70% of competitors opted for the harder front choice, whilst 60% chose the harder of the two rears. All four slick tyre choices were represented on the podium.”

DOWNLOAD IMAGE San Marino GP MISANO MOTO2

Date: 05/09/2010 Track name: Misano Track length: 4226 m. Track temp: 37 ° C / Ambient temp: 26 ° C Spectators: 50,918

TYRE SPECS FOR THIS RACE Front: A - Soft, Multi-Tread E - Hard, Single-Tread Rear: C - Medium D - Medium Hard

Gresini Racing’s Toni Elias stepped up in qualifying to take only his second pole position start of the 2010 season at the Misano circuit at San Marino, the first being at the opening round of the championship at Qatar in April. Elias beat young British Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding to pole by a mere 0.044 seconds, Redding taking his second consecutive front row start after Indianapolis. Mapfre Aspar’s Julian Simon secured third with Forward Racing Team’s Jules Cluzel completing the front row.

Sunday’s Moto2 race was overshadowed by Shoya Tomizawa’s crash on L12, in which he was hit by both Scott Redding and . Tomizawa was treated at the circuit and then transferred to nearby Riccione hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries.

Pole position Elias went on to take the chequered flag, scoring is sixth race win of the season and extending his championship lead to 83 points. Front row starter Simon held on to take second place on the podium, moving into second in the championship in the process and Interwetten Moriwaki’s Thomas Luthi completing the podium in third, his fifth podium of the season after an impressive ride from 15th on the grid.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE DUNLOP VICTORIOUS AT 74TH BOL D’OR WITH SUZUKI

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The 74th Bol d’Or 24HR Endurance the Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone were favourable for the weekend’s “It’s been a very satisfying weekend Race on the 11th & 12th September team from the early hours of Sunday endurance racing, the remaining for us and our partners,” said at Magny Cours in France saw morning, increasing to the 14 lap practice and qualifying sessions Dunlop Motorsport Manager Steve Dunlop take the win for the second lead at the finish line. were run in dry conditions and the Male. “We experienced no problems year in succession, providing the race itself was also dry. This made with our tyres in practice, qualifying winning tyres to enable the Suzuki The victory puts the team second tyre choice easier for the teams and and the race itself. Our teams were Endurance Racing team to take the in the championship standings with Dunlop engineers. A team of eight consistently fast in every session chequered flag some 14 laps ahead 65 points, trailing the leaders by tyre fitters, one logistics controller, resulting with us in the end winning of their closest rivals. nine points. This position is five track managers and one the race for the second year in especially impressive considering manager worked continuously succession! It was rewarding to see Riders Freddy Foray, Guillaume they have entered just two of the through the 38 hours of the race nearly half the field choosing our Dietrich and Vincent Philippe had a four rounds of the 2010 period plus 32 hours of practice. tyres for this incredibly tough event, relatively trouble free 24Hr run, championship so far. 2,500 were taken to the trackside team worked Starting from a second row grid the race event to be used by an incredibly hard throughout to ensure position after qualifying second the Barring some rain at the start of the impressive 22 of the 55 all our racing customers had exactly team built a comfortable lead over first practice session the conditions on the grid. what they needed.” 1st August saw Team BMW Motorsport score third and fourth place finishes at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race. The gruelling BITTER SWEET SUCCESS FOR BMW AND endurance race had started strongly for both the number 79 BMW M3 GT2 car of Dirk Werner, Dirk Muller and Dirk Adorf and the number 78 BMW M3 GT2 of Jorg Muller, Uwe Alzen and Pedro DUNLOP AT SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS Lamy. The two Maxx shod BMW M3s had temporarily held first and second position before heavy rainfall quickly changed track conditions.

The number 79 car was quickly back on the pace and victory looked certain with Werner at the wheel until a mechanical failure just 40 minutes from the race end saw him crash into the barriers. The unscheduled pit stop for repairs dropped the car back to third which Werner held to the line. The number 78 car was also held up with two unscheduled stops, dropping as far back as nine laps behind its sister car before fighting back to cross the line in fourth atthe chequered flag. On lap 338, Müller set the fastest lap of the race. He managed to lap the 7.004-kilometre circuit in just 2:21.430 minutes.

“We have experienced everything in motorsport,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “We dominated the race and ultimately missed out on victory thanks to a comparatively small technical fault in the last 40 minutes.”

DOWNLOAD IMAGE 1st September marked the promotion of Goodyear Dunlop’s Sebastien Morin from Lead Engineer to Manager of the Mireval Testing ground in Montpellier. Previously responsible for all car and tests at the extensive facility, Sebastien now oversees the entire operation, ON HALLOWED GROUND... taking ultimate responsibility for every wheel that turns at the site.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE Mireval itself is an incredible facility, offering the ability test straight all contained within an area just over to test both car and motorcycle tyres in almost any 200 hectares in size. situation. At any given time cars, motorcycles and trucks are being put through their paces on either The proving ground has the facility to host large the high speed circuit snaking through the proving scale tyre launches, in April of this year the track saw ground, or undergoing wet braking tests, aquaplaning 74 motorcycle journalists from across Europe and tests and even off-road performance testing. nearly 100 Dunlop motorcycle tyre dealers present for the launch of the Dunlop SportSmart and TR91 Opened in 1973 as a race track named Karland, the motorcycle tyres. Alternating over a seven day period circuit was purchased by Goodyear in 1984 and the various rider groups were given a unique developed into the GIE Goodyear Mireval proving opportunity to put the tyres through their paces in ground of today. In 1999, the Dunlop team joined wet and dry conditions, both on the circuit, off-road the legal entity of Mireval after the SRI/Goodyear and in the surrounding Montpellier roads. alliance. The site has a permanent staff of 63 including four full time motorcycle riders, two of In 2009 over 1,650 motorcycle tyres were tested on which are ex-racers. Today the site features include the Mireval circuits, covering 44,481km with the mix the 3.3km high speed road circuit, a 1.5km off-road of scooters, trail bikes, sports bikes and roadsters at circuit, a 628m circle ring and the 120km/hr brake the testers disposal.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE BMW AND DUNLOP TO CHALLENGE FOR THE 2010 INTERCONTINENTAL LE MANS CUP BMW intends to contest all three rounds of the Le Mans Cup with the BMW M3 BMW Team Schnitzer got off to a difficult start with an eighth place finish in the GT2 GT2. Works drivers Jorg Muller and Dirk Werner will drive the Silverstone 1000km class at the 1000 km race at Silverstone (GB). race in the UK and the Zhuhai 1000km in China as the finale. The middle race, the ‘Petit Le Mans’ in Road Atlanta, USA, will see BMW represented by the BMW Rahal out for the other two rounds: Letterman Racing Team with drivers Dirk Muller, Joey Hand, Tommy Milner and Bill 29th September to 2nd October 2010, Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta (US) Auberlen. Jorg Muller and Dirk Werner will support. 5th to 7th November 2010, 1000-kilometre race, Zhuhai (CN)

DOWNLOAD IMAGE DUNLOP DOMINATES

X GAMES DOWNLOAD IMAGE The X Games competition brings some of the biggest names in action and motorsports from around the world to Los Angeles. The blend of Supercross and Freestyle motorcycle events saw Dunlop racers take 19 of the 21 medals including five gold. In the Moto X Super X competition Josh Grant put in a strong performance on his Dunlop-shod YZ450F to claim his first-ever X Games gold medal. His JGR teammate Justin Brayton took silver. Defending Women’s Moto X Super X gold medallist Red Bull Racing’s Ashley Fiolek successfully made it back to-back wins, taking her second consecutive Women’s Moto X Super X gold. Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Tarah Gieger secured the silver medal, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Sara Price finished with the bronze.

Levi Sherwood clinched the silver medal in the Moto X Freestyle competition on his Dunlop-equipped KTM 250 at his first-ever X Games event. Nate Adams scored his ninth X Games medal, going home with the bronze. The Moto X Best Trick contest delivered plenty of thrills as the top three spots went to first-time X Games medallists. Australian natives Cam Sinclair and Robbie Maddison took the gold and silver aboard their Dunlop-shod machines whilst Taka Higashino of Japan was awarded the bronze. Todd Potter defended his 2009 gold-medal performance with his second consecutive Moto X Best Whip win, while X Games rookie Jarryd McNeil garnered the silver and Jeremy Stenberg took the bronze. Matt Buyten sailed smoothly over the bar to take the 2010 Moto X Step Up gold medal. Last year’s winner Ronnie Renner grabbed the silver, and Potter secured the bronze. In the Moto X Speed & Style competition, Adams grabbed his second medal of the Games by finishing with the silver, and Stenberg took his second bronze medal of the Games.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE SHOYA TOMIZAWA 1990 – 2010

Sunday 5th September was a tragic day for the racing world. 19 year old Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa crashed badly on the 12th lap of the race at Misano, and was subsequently hit by other riders who had no chance to avoid him.

Tomizawa received immediate medical treatment by the specialist doctors of the Clinica Mobile who are present at all MotoGP races, and they transferred him to Riccione hospital. Despite the efforts of all involved the rider’s injuries were too serious, and he passed away on Sunday afternoon.

Shoya Tomizawa made his MotoGP debut in the 125cc class at Motegi in 2006. In 2008 he came second in the All- Japan 250cc Championship before moving to the 250cc MotoGP Championship in 2009, finishing the season in 17th position.

Tomizawa stayed with his Technomag CIP team for the new Moto2 World Championship, putting his name in the record books when he won the first ever Moto2 race in Qatar in April. He followed this with a second place in Jerez, and , coming to Misano, was lying 6th in the championship table.

He was not only clearly a hugely talented young rider with a great potential, but also a very popular guy in the paddock. In Valentino Rossi’s words “ he was a very strong rider but above all he was very ‘simpatico’.

“Everyone in Dunlop Motorsport both in Japan and Europe who met and so enjoyed working with Shoya were devastated when the news came through that his accident had proved fatal and “ said Jeremy Ferguson, Dunlop’s International Motorsport Manager “ We hope that Shoya’s family, friends and his Technomag CIP team find comfort in the outpourings of sympathy they have received from all over the world.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE BACK TO SCHOOL Motorbike skills are something which can always be improved, a good rider is always learning. In Touch caught up with Andy Ibbott, head of the California Superbike School to find out a little more of their teachings and hear why they DOWNLOAD IMAGE use Dunlop tyres on all their bikes... What makes the superbike school different from the average I have been teaching the techniques for over 16 years now and I am or better lap times. track day? still learning new things. I think once you close your mind or think you know best you might as well give up and put your leathers and helmet Is the school only for sportsbike riders or is there something to On a track day you just get to blast around making all the mistakes you on Ebay. learn for normal street riders as well? can! On the Schools we teach you how to do the corners better. It is a school, you are here to learn. If you want to go fast and not think - do What are the most important skills a rider needs to learn for We have had and do have all sorts of riders and bikes on our schools, a track day. safe road and track riding? from vintage bikes, scooters, Harleys, sports tourers, tourers, there is no difference as all the riders want to do the corners better. Anyone Which Dunlop tyres do you use at the school? What we do at the schools is concentrate on the corners, where the can go fast in a straight line. risk is highest and help riders to have a better understanding of how At the Schools we use the new Sport Smart and the D211 N-Tec. Most they corner their bikes. A better understanding leads to more How important are the right tyres for bike riding, what of the bikes are on Sport Smarts for the grip and wear rates we get, confidence. maintenance advice would you give riders concerning tyres? which are excellent! What do students enjoy most about attending the school? Make sure that you always have a matched pair of tyres from the same Why do you use Dunlop tyres, why are they so good for your Brand. I know Dunlop spend a lot of money to make sure that the front students? The level of knowledge we have whether we are talking about road and rear tyres work together. Never mix and match brands. Secondly, riding or GP racing, we have experience at all these levels and all points make sure you are running the right tyre pressures. Too high or too low Dunlop has supported the schools here in Europe since 1996 and in in between. I know you cannot find a better bunch of trained coaches will affect the grip of the tyre. the USA since 1980. The main reason for using Dunlop tyres is the feel all in one place at one time anywhere else in Europe. and feedback they give both the students and the coaches. What is the philosophy of the superbike school? www.superbikeschool.com You teach all levels of rider from basic to racer, is riding something you should never stop learning? To improve a rider’s cornering confidence, whether for fun, road riding

DOWNLOAD IMAGE Mugello (Italy) Silverstone Full GP layout(UK) ATTACK Mugello is a fast open track with a massive Quite a flat track but it has a really good straight for speed. It has a really nice flow mixture of corners and straights. The new THE TRACK and rhythm that requires a technical Village section is wonderful to ride. understanding to go fast on it. A box all track www.silverstone.co.uk Europe can claim some of the riders must tick. best race tracks in the World. www.mugellocircuit.it We asked Any Ibbott to recommend the top ten track day destinations for motor- cycle riders looking for a Brno (Czech Rep) Valencia (Spain) challenge. There’s still time Brno is one of the best tracks in Europe. It’s a For me this is one of the hardest tracks to go before the winter to get out shame that the weather there can be very hit and fast on. It is anti-clockwise, a rare layout in there and enjoy some of these miss. The track needs to be ridden with a good Europe. It’s very satisfying once you get its so why not stop in at your local understanding of attack angles, namely how one flow. Dunlop dealer, get fitted with corner will flow into the other and so on. www.circuitvalencia.com some serious rubber and get www.automotodrombrno.cz out there and enjoy!

Jerez (Spain) (Germany) Jerez is another good GP track and one that It’s very difficult to get a track day here but really favours the riders who like to be well worth it if you get the chance. Hardly aggressive on the exit of the turns. You see any straights to speak of so it’s all about more black drive lines here on a track day corners! Superb! than most other tracks. www.sachsenring-circuit.com www.circuitodejerez.com

Knutstorp (Sweden) Portimao (Portugal) Knutstorp is an excellent track with lots of Crikey, whoever designed this track was elevation changes and blind turns. You really having a very bad day or was feeling need to have your visual skills sorted out particularly evil! There are so many challenges here if you want to go fast. Not a long track here it can fry your brain! but lots of fun. www.portimaoracecircuit.com/ www.ringknutstorp.com

Istanbul Park (Turkey) Le Luc (France) This track has one corner that you can reach A small short track in the South of France it over 240kph on! Now that is a fast turn! has a challenging number of slow corners Again a good track because of the elevation which you need to set your speed right for. It changes you have to deal with. It also has a also has a very demanding downhill entry long turn with 3 apexes! right hander. Easy on those brakes! www.istanbulparkcircuit.com www.circuitduvar.com Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey became the first rookie winner this century of the AMA SX title back in May and capped off a fantastic year riding the Dunlop-booted RM-Z450 by clinching the double Dungey at with the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The 20 year old carried on his splendid momentum from the indoor competition the double right into the intense twelve round outdoor series and had claimed eight motos from twelve as the 2010 contest reached the halfway stage.

While Dungey’s quest for the motocross crown did not begin in the best way – he didn’t even make the podium for the opening meeting– he soon found his stride in all manner of terrain and demanding conditions. He dominated the third and fourth appointments and then surrendered a race to Honda’s Andrew Short and Yamaha’s Josh Grant a week later before commencing a phenomenal charge of eleven straight moto wins (five and a half rounds) that tucked the number one plate firmly in the pocket of the racer from Minnesota.

In the scarily-competitive Lites division, Pro Circuit Kawasaki have largely set the pace with their rapid KX250-F machines, glued to the dirt of the US venues with , specifically the versatility and performance of the hard-pack MX71, the intermediate-terrain MX51 and the soft-terrain MX31. Christophe Pourcel, Tyla Rattray and Dean Wilson have all sampled victory champagne but Pourcel’s biggest threat for the title has come from Geico Honda’s Trey Canard.

It is in fact the Honda rider, together with Short and of course Dungey, who will represent the all- conquering Team USA at the most important off- road motorcycling event of the year. The historic Motocross of Nations – now in its 64th edition – will take place on home soil on September 26th for the Americans with Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Denver, Colorado set to entertain 31 visiting countries (each with a selection of their three best riders). Dunlop will no doubt again shine on the biggest stage where Team USA will be hoping and expecting to stretch their unbeaten run and lift the Chamberlain trophy for the sixth time since 2005. DOWNLOAD IMAGE CIV ITALIAN SUPERPSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP

After five races, Yamaha R6 Media Action rider Ferrruccio Lamborghini is sitting first in the CIV Italian Supersport Championship. Lamborghini started the season just off the podium in fourth at Vallelunga in April, took his first podium of 2010 with a third place finish at Monza a month later then took the double victory in Mugello in June

The last race in Misano in July saw championship leader Lamborghini struggle with a technical issue, finishing in seventh behind fellow Dunlop rider, Team Velini Racing’s Alessio Velini, currently eighth in the championship. Velini, who finished runner up in the championship last year has so far achieved a best result of fourth in the second race at Mugello. With two races to go to the end of the season, Lamborghini is in first with a ten point lead over Bike Service Racing Team rider Tamburini in second.

The next round of the championship will be the 19th September in Misano Adriatico, where Ferruccio Lamborghini rode his first Moto2 race this month, finishing 24th. The last race will be 17th October at Mugello, Lamborghini’s and Velini’s favourite track.

For Dunlop the CIV is an important championship, the engineers bring new compounds to improve grip and performance at all the Italian circuits. Of the 27 riders on the grid, ten including Lamborghini, now ride on the new Dunlop Sport Max D211 GP tyre.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE Fasten your seatbelt and keep up to SPEED… with Dunlop

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