Dunlop introduce GP Racer D212 - a treaded track day tyre that’s still road legal
By Michael Mann
BikeSocial Managing Editor. Content man - reviewer, road tester, video presenter, interviewer, commissioner, organiser. First ride was a 1979 Honda ST70 in the back garden aged 6. Not too shabby on track, loves a sportsbike, worries about helmet hair, occasionally plays golf and squash but enjoys being a father to a 7-year old the most.
11.11.2016
Designed for track days and racing as well as popping to the shops, the new GP Racer D212 is the latest set of rubber from Dunlop and is due for release in January.
In terms of testing the new product, Dunlop have impressed. The first production-spec version of the tyre was used in the final round of the French Superbike Championship where Lucas Mahias won both Supersport races on the GMT94 Yamaha.
The technological ancestry of the new GP Racer D212 can be traced back to the 2013 Isle of Man TT when Michael Dunlop set the Superstock lap record of 131.2mph on a GP Pro D212, which was faster than he achieved on a Superbike with slicks.
Dunlop, the tyre manufacturer not the multiple TT-winner, say the ‘new Multi-Tread compound has been designed to improve durability, warm-up time and ultimate grip’. 1 front and 4 rear sizes will be available at the release of the new tyres in the new year but they will be on show at Motorcycle Live at the NEC.
Dunlop’s Technology Director, Sebastien Montet, said: “We had conducted thousands of miles of track and road testing in addition to many hours of simulations. But there is nothing quite like a real race situation to gauge the performance, durability and consistency of a new tyre in the heat of intense competition. We have proven many of the GP Racer D212’s new technological features in our race tyres, and towards the end of the validation process we chose to fit the full final product to championship contending bikes”
We look forward to testing the GP Racer D212 in the new year and reporting back with some prices and size details.
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