DUNLOP Takes Endurance World Championship
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IN TOUCH MOTORSPORT NEWS ISSUE 14 NOVEMBER ’10 DUNLOP TAKES ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THIS ISSUE: MOTO2 ROUND-UP 125GP WORLD TITLE ILMC ZHUHAI MX OF NATIONS THIS ISSUE: DUNLOP ENTERS MX1-GP DOWNLOAD IMAGE LMS 1000KM CASTELLET DUNLOP WRAPS UP SUCCESSFUL DEBUT MOTO2 SEASON The final round of the inaugural Moto2 World Championship at Valencia two weeks ago marked the end of a hugely successful first season for Dunlop as the sole tyre supplier in the all-new 600cc class. The season saw no less than nine different riders take the chequered flag and stand on top of the podium with Carbion AB Motoracing’s Czech rider Karel Abraham taking his only win of the year at the finale. Toni Elias came out on top with seven race wins, 3 pole position starts and 271 points to be the first ever Moto2 World Champion, his consistency giving him the title three rounds previously at Sepang in Malaysia. Despite recording no race wins it was Spanish Mapfre Aspar rider Julian Simon who took second in the championship. Simon took eight podium finishes to secure 201 points, just two points clear of Fimmco Speed Up’s Andrea Iannone on 199 points, the Italian rider managing three race wins and a further five podiums over the year. The 2011 test season got straight underway the day after the Valencia race, 35 Moto2 riders took to the track for the first official test to evaluate bikes and development Dunlop tyres for the following season. Some riders, notably Toni Elias and Karel Abraham, are moving up to the MotoGP class, but several newcomers - including Bradley Smith and his new team-mate Mike Di Meglio were making their first laps on the Tech3 Moto2 bikes they will ride next year. From December 1st to January 31 no testing is permitted for any of the MotoGP classes The Dunlop Moto2 trackside team of 13 fitted 10,000 Dunlop tyres to the Moto2 competitors over the race season. Six variations of front slick tyre and nine variations of slick rear tyre were developed for the season along with wet tyres. Dunlop will continue as sole supplier of tyres to the Moto2 World Championship for the 2011 and 2012 season. DOWNLOAD IMAGE SERT TAKE THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE WITH DUNLOP The final round of the 2010 FIM World Endurance was the first rider, getting off the line quickly to Championship, The 8 Hours of Doha on the 14th take the lead which the team held for the duration of November, saw the Dunlop shod Suzuki of the race, ultimately winning with a four lap Endurance Racing Team take the chequered flag advantage over second place. to secure not just the race victory but also the 2010 championship title. The championship “This is a fantastic achievement for us,” said victory marks the tenth time the French team has Dunlop Motorsport Manager Stephen Male. “The clinched the world title in their history and the FIM World Endurance series represents one of 14th time Dunlop has won the title in the 28 the toughest challenges in racing; our trackside years of the championship. customers demand tyres that work day or night, Riders Vincent Philippe, Sylvain Guintoli and hot or cold, whether it’s wet or dry. The length of Freddy Foray put in a strong performance in the the races means the tyres also need greater previous day’s qualifying, Guintoli putting in the durability than traditional ‘sprint’ race tyres, in turn team’s best lap of 2’00.862 to take second on helping us to develop high performance road the grid, just over five tenths off pole. Philippe tyres in line with our race-to-road philosophy.” DOWNLOAD IMAGE ELIAS WINS FIRST TITLE As Toni Elias crossed the line in fourth place at Sepang in Malaysia on Sunday 10th October on his Gresini Racing Moto2 (Moriwaki) bike, he stepped into history as the first ever Moto2 World Champion. The 27 year old Spanish rider also realised his first world championship title in the eleventh year of racing on the world stage. Elias who entered the 125GP stage in 1999 on Dunlop’s, was one of the few riders to score points in every single one of the first fourteen races of the 2010 championship, winning seven of them, making him nearly twice as successful as his nearest rival rider. Winning his first Moto2 race in Spain earlier in the year promoted him to an exclusive club consisting of only seven riders who have won races in four different categories of GP racing; 125, 250, Moto2 and MotoGP. “When I crossed the line the first thing I did was cry a lot,” said Tony Elias after his Sepang victory. “But then after that it seemed like my emotions were blocked, I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t feel anything; I don’t know why. Now, minute by minute, I feel better, because I know it’s all true. But maybe I will start crying again in a few minutes! Finally we reached our target....It has been many years of fighting and then this year a lot of work with my team and with Moriwaki. This title is for my parents, my sister, all my friends and everyone who has worked with me during my career. It is also for the people who are not here, like my uncle, who died four years ago, and for (Shoya) Tomizawa (Elias’ Moto2 rival who died following an accident during last month’s Misano Moto2 race). My dream has come true, now we will continue fighting for another championship.” DOWNLOAD IMAGE MARQUEZ CLAIMS FIRST EVER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 17yr old Spanish rider Marc Marquez claimed a fourth position finish on his Dunlop shod 125cc Red Bull Ajo Motorsport Derbi bike at the GP Generali de la Communitat Valenciana to claim the 2010 125cc World Championship, his first title. Despite a year that started with a number of crashes, Marquez took five race wins in a row from Mugello onwards, taking the championship lead mid-season. Further crashes at Indianapolis and Aragon meant a temporary loss of the championship lead, but the young Spaniard fought back to win every one of the end of season fly away races to get back into the title contention. He arrived in Valencia having won at Estoril and only needing a top eight finish to secure the title, securing it finally with his fourth place finish at the Spanish season finale. Marquez, the second youngest rider to ever win a motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship, took ten race wins and 12 pole position starts on his way to the 2010 championship title, the most race wins in a single season ever by a Spanish 125cc rider. DOWNLOAD IMAGE DOWNLOAD IMAGE Dunlop’s endurance racing season came to a successful conclusion with race wins and titles around the world. The tyre manufacturer secured the GT2 manufacturers’ title in the American Le Mans Series with its partner team BMW Rahal Letterman Racing. BMW Team Schnitzer won the GT2 class at the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in Zhuhai, China, and Dunlop’s partner team OAK Racing won the ILMC LMP2 title. In America, the Dunlop-shod BMW M3 finished on the podium in every round of the ALMS, apart from the long-distance 1000 mile Petit Le Mans in Atlanta in October. There, Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand finished fourth in class, delivering BMW the Manufacturers’ title, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing the Teams’ title, and secured second position in the GT Tire Manufacturers’ standings for Dunlop. One month later, the final big endurance race of the year was held with a 1000km race in Zhuhai, China. Audi and Peugeot dominated the overall standings with their Le Mans cars, but Dunlop secured race wins in the LMP2 class through partner team OAK Racing which finished fifth overall, and with the GT2 category winning Schnitzer BMW. BMW’s win in the GT2 class was comfortable. The car, driven by Joerg Muller and Dirk Werner, led from the first hour to the chequered flag, winning by 1.32min from the factory-backed Porsche and Ferrari teams. “You can hardly wish for a more perfect race,” said Muller. “I have to pay a compliment to our tyre partner Dunlop: Our tyres were consistent from the very first lap, and comfortable to drive throughout the race.” Team manager Charly Lamm also praised the quality of the Dunlop tyres as part of the overall package. “Our team returned to endurance racing this year after a long absence, and we managed to improve our performance with the BMW M3 GT2 on a race by race basis,” said Lamm. “Our overall package of car, drivers, Dunlop tyres and the team was just very strong.” DUNLOP PROPELS BMW TO ILMC WIN AND ALMS TITLES DUNLOP DENVER DELIGHT at MX OF Nations The 2010 Motocross of Nations saw the historic international event reach its 64th edition but as with the previous six meetings Team USA were able to re-print their name on the Chamberlain Trophy and walk away from Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Denver, Colorado coated in glory. AMA MX and SX Champion Ryan Dungey, AMA MX 250 Champion Trey Canard and local boy Andrew Short won two of the three motos between them using Suzuki and Honda machinery booted with the grippy and potent Dunlop MX range. The fine soil of Lakewood has been home to one of the finest dinosaur excavation sites in the world over the past two centuries but the roar of the three best off-road motorcycle racers from over 30 different countries echoed around the surrounding hillsides on the last weekend of September.