MOTORSPORT NEWSINTOuchISSuE 16 IN ThIS ISSuE:

LE MaNS 24ISLE Of MaN TT

MX1 / MX2DuNLOP’S 11 IN a ROW

aT ThE BOL D’OR

JuNE‘11

LE MaNSSuccESS!

LMP2 WIN aT LE MaNSThe 79th Le Mans 24 Hours proved to be another successful race for Dunlop, with a 1-2 finish in the LMP2 class.

Greaves Motorsport trio Karim Ojjeh, Tom Kimber-Smith and Olivier Lombard took class honours and were the highest placed Dunlop finishers in eighth overall, with a largely trouble-free run seeing them finish six laps clear of fellow Dunlop team Signatech Nissan.

Despite various dramas during the race, all seven of Dunlop’s LMP2 cars made it to the finish with RML, OAK Racing’s #49 entry and Race Performance also inside the top 20 overall.

The success in LMP2 made up for a tough race in the premier LMP1 class, with a tyre development partner OAK Racing forced to retire both of its cars – the #15 with mechanical problems and the #24 after a small fire left it stranded on track. The Quifel-ASM Zytek also failed to see the finish having been forced out when the engine let go early on.

“As always, the Le Mans 24 Hours is a race full of drama,” Dunlop Motorsport’s General Manager Jean-Félix Bazelin said. “In LMP2, we scored a fantastic win with Greaves Motorsport and we congratulate them for that.

“Unfortunately, our challenge in the LMP1 category ended early, but we were quick in this class and I am happy that our tyres worked well across all our cars and we are at least a match for the opposition.”

LE MaNSREVIEW

GTE PRO PODIuMDunlop also enjoyed success in GTE-Pro during the 79th Le Mans 24 Hours, with BMW Motorsport taking a podium finish in the highly competitive and hotly contested class.

Despite a number of unscheduled stops to rectify various problems, Andy Priaulx, Dirk Müller and Joey Hand finished third in the #56 BMW M3 GT while the sister car of Augusto Farfus, Jorg Müller and Dirk Werner started from pole and looked set to finish well up the class standings before retiring less than three hours from the finish.

For Dunlop’s other GTE-Pro teams, it was a more challenging race with the Jota Aston Martin Vantage retiring with an engine issue and the JMW Ferrari – resplendent in the winning livery from the Dunlop Art Car competition – down in ninth in class after fuel pressure and clutch problems hampered its challenge.

In GTE-Am, the JMB Racing Ferrari 430 took fourth place although engine failure forced Krohn Racing to retire. The Gulf AMR Middle East Aston Martin Vantage also failed to finish after an accident in the Porsche Curves early on Sunday morning, although the car had led the class in the opening six hours.

In total across the four classes in the race, Dunlop tyres completed a total of 3868 laps on 17 of the 56 cars entered, equating to approximately 52,444 kilometres or 32,587 miles!

Mik Whiting from Derbyshire in the UK won the 2011 Dunlop Livery Competition, with his design adorning the Dunlop-supported JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia Dunlop Art Car.

Mik and two other finalists attended Le Mans where they enjoyed a full programme of activities over the course of the build-up to the event, and the race itself.

The winning design was chosen from over 250 entries received from throughout Europe. The public elected finalist designs by voting on-line at www.livery-competition. dunlop.eu with the final decision made by a jury comprised of Sanjay Khanna (MD, Goodyear Dunlop) Jean-Félix Bazelin (General Manager, Dunlop Motorsport) Jim McWhirter (Principle, JMW Motorsports) and Fabrice Bourrigaud (Marketing & Communications Manager, ACO).

The winning designer describes himself as a complete ‘petrol-head’. Mik’s dream trip was won by highlighting the ‘Britishness’ in the team, drivers’ and Dunlop’s heritage, and using the colours and ‘Flying D’ that epitomise Dunlop in a design that’s eye-catching and instantly recognisable as a Dunlop car.

“I’m so proud to see my design actually on the car and then to see it line up on the grid at the start of the race was just awesome,” said Mik.

“Once the race was underway I had friends text me telling me they’d seen my design racing on TV and they even heard my name mentioned on the commentary for winning the competition.”

BRIT WINS DUNLOP LIVERY COMPETITION

After big wins for Stefan Bradl and Andrea Iannone in the opening 2011 races, victory in the all-Dunlop Moto2 World Championship was decided by just 0.147sec in Portugal.

Starting from a perfect third pole of the year, and on a dry track after another weekend of mixed Estoril weather, Bradl used speed and patience to take his second win of the season.

Twice the Kalex rider lost the lead, only to have it swiftly returned when the rider ahead crashed. First to falter was Interwetten’s Thomas Lüthi, then points’ leader Iannone - who charged forwards from 16th, only to stumble from his Suter.

Bradl, winner of last October’s Estoril race, then rode a defensive final lap to keep Aspar’s Julian Simon at bay. Gresini’s Yuki Takahashi claimed third.

85% of the riders - including the podium finishers - picked the 717 (hard) front tyre, with the entire field electing to run the 3854 (soft-medium) rears.

Despite Estoril’s heavy bias towards right-hard turns, tyre wear was balanced and impressive endurance meant the top three all set their fastest laps after mid-race distance.

The top rider on the 753 (medium) front was FTR’s Simone Corsi in fifth. Earlier in the weekend, the 414 wets had once again performed admirably on a tricky drying surface.

Bradl’s victory gave him a 13-point lead over Iannone.

Catalunya saw Dunlop extend its exclusive tyre contract until the end of 2014, while title leader Stefan Bradl continued his run of alternating race wins.

Bradl, winner of rounds one and three, kept his Kalex up front for most of the fifth round - while collisions just behind him took out Thomas Lüthi and Yuki Takahashi, then Julián Simón and Kenan Sofuoglu.

Those incidents helped Le Mans winner Marc Márquez (Suter) inherit second place, four-seconds from Bradl, with former MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaró (Pons Kalex) claiming his first ever Moto2 rostrum in third.

Bradl’s victory also meant a winning debut for Dunlop’s new asymmetric W919 rear tyre, developed during winter testing.

Offered alongside the softer 3868 option, rider opinion was initially divided equally between the two tyres - but by race day, 70% had opted for the W919.

Like Bradl, Márquez also ran the W919 in combination with the (harder) 717 front compound, which was favoured throughout the grid. Espargaró was the only rider in the top six to use the 3868 rear.

The 23-lap race took its toll on both types of rear tyre, in terms of wear and abrasion, but riders remained happy with performance.

Moto2 welcomed its first new winner of 2011, following a breakthrough victory by reigning 125cc World Champion Marc Marquez at Le Mans.

The 18-year-old Spanish rookie had failed to score a single point after incidents in all three previous rounds, but showed no lack of self-belief as he climbed purposefully up the order from ninth on lap 1.

The Suter rider snatched the lead with four laps to go, then rode to a safe 1.9sec victory over Moriwaki’s Yuki Takahashi.

Takahashi to fifth-placed Thomas Lüthi (Suter) were covered by just 0.627sec, with Championship leader Stefan Bradl (Kalex) beating Julian Simon (Suter) to the final podium position.

A costly first-lap error by Andrea Iannone meant Bradl left Le Mans with a 28-point lead over new nearest rival Simon.

Bradl was one of eight riders to race with Dunlop’s new high-ambient 3757 rear tyre, which had been as good - if not better - than the proven 3854 soft-medium rear during hot Friday practice.

Dunlop engineers were impressed by how well the 3757 performed in the cooler race-day conditions, although Bradl felt the temperature change cost him some edge-grip relative to the 3854 riders, who dominated the top six.

In terms of front tyres, the 753 medium-compound allowed better outright performance, but riders selected the 717 hard-compound due to its superior stability and manoeuvrability.

Slippery conditions at Silverstone couldn’t loosen Stefan Bradl’s grip on the Moto2 World Championship, as Dunlop’s wet tyres made their second race appearance of the season.

Once again, the young German understood the limits of adhesion better than his rivals, many of whom were caught out by the treacherous conditions.

Bradl retook the advantage from local star Scott Redding on lap 4 of 18, then returned to the top when Mattia Pasini crashed from a short-lived lead on lap 8.

Dunlop’s 414 wets offered so much grip that Bradl’s best lap, of 2min 25.096sec, was only beaten by eight riders in the following MotoGP race!

The biggest cheer of the day went to Tech 3’s Bradley Smith, who charged from 28th to 2nd in front of his home fans. Fellow rookie Michele Pirro (Moriwaki) also took his first rostrum with third.

MOTO2 MOTO2ESTORIL caTaLuNYaLE MaNS SILVERSTONE

The final season of the 125cc World Championship again sees all riders running Dunlop tyres, as a mix of up-and-coming stars take on the class veterans.

Last year’s title runner-up Nico Terol may have enjoyed a dominant start to the season - four poles and four wins from six rounds - but exciting new talents have also emerged in the form of debut victories for Maverick Viñales and Jonas Folger.

Terol (Aprilia) triumphed in Qatar, Spain and Portugal, before 16-year-old rookie Viñales (Aprilia) made a last-turn victory pass in Le Mans. Johann Zarco (Derbi) thought he had taken his first win in Catalunya, but a 20-second penalty put Terol back on top.

Torrential rain at Silverstone then gave Folger (Aprilia) his chance to

shine and the 17-year-old left the British Grand Prix 35 points behind Terol, who rode to a safe eighth.

Further back, Hiroki Ono and Alexis Masbou have both scored points for KTM, with Marcel Schrötter and Danny Webb doing likewise for new manufacturer Mahindra.

Although all riders use Dunlop tyres, there is no exclusive supplier for the 125cc class - the blanket use of Dunlop technology simply reflects demand from the teams.

However, at Catalunya it was announced that next year’s new Moto3 class, of 250cc four-strokes, will officially be all-Dunlop - just like in Moto2.

125’S fINaL cOuNTDOWN

Dunlop riders took four wins in the 92nd running of the Isle of Man TT race after Honda TT Legends rider John McGuinness won the final TT race of 2011 on the fearsome 37.73 mile (60.72 km) Mountain Course.

Dunlop took wins in the Superbike, Supersport 1, Superstock and Senior TT races in 2011 to bring the tally of wins using Dunlop tyres to 17 over the last four years.

The Supersport and Superstock victories were achieved using Dunlop’s D211 GP tyre, with a road legal tread pattern, homologated for race use and built at Dunlop’s Motorsport department in Birmingham.

“Dunlop has a long history of success at the Isle of Man TT which stretches back to the very first race win there in 1907,” said Dunlop Motorsport Manager Motorcycle EU, Steve Male. “The Mountain

Course is a closed public road so this gives us the best test possible of our products, and the lessons learned at the TT are directly applicable to our commercially available products.

“The D211 GP is a tremendous tyre, and this was illustrated once more by our two TT wins this year in the Supersport and Superstock categories. The technology developed for this tyre was initially used on the GP Racer D211 and is now being applied in the new award winning SportSmart which is a testament to the effectiveness of Dunlop’s commitment to race to road technology transfer.

“Our Multi-Tread compound and NTEC technologies give superb dry grip with fast warm-up times and great handling, which are good for the road and also in competition, as highlighted by our further TT wins in 2011.”

I.O.M TTfOuR TT WINS fOR DuNLOP IN 2011.

Senior TT Race 10/06/111. John McGuinness Honda TT Legends 1h 45m 45.80s @ 128.426mph Dunlop racing slicks2. Guy Martin Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing 1h 45m 53.00s @ 128.281mph3. Bruce Anstey Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda 1h 46m 01.50s @ 128.109mph Dunlop racing slicks

Supersport Race 1 06/06/111. Bruce Anstey Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda 54m 40.01s @ 124.232mph Dunlop D211 GP2. Keith Amor KBMG Racing 54m 48.40s @ 123.916mph Dunlop D211 GP3. Guy Martin Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing 54m 56.06s @ 123.628mph

Superstock Race 06/06/11 1. Michael Dunlop Street Sweep Kawasaki 1h 11m 13.69s @ 127.129mph Dunlop D211 GP2. John McGuinness Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda 1h 11m 32.32s @ 126.578mph Dunlop D211 GP3. Guy Martin Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing 1h 11m 36.59s @ 126.452mph

Superbike TT Race 04/06/111. John McGuinness Honda TT Legends 1h 46m 13.40s @ 127.870mph Dunlop racing slicks2. Cameron McDonald Wilson Craig Racing Honda 1h 47m 10.30s @ 126.739mph Dunlop racing slicks3. Gary Johnson Lincs Lifting Ltd Honda 1h 13m 29.28s @ 123.220mph

Dunlop Riders in Italics

© David Traynor

There were two class podiums for Dunlop-shod teams in what proved to be a tough second round to the Le Mans Series at Spa on May 7; with the final race prior to the Le Mans 24 Hours doubling as the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

LMP2 entry of Boutsen Energy’s LMP2 car overcame a fuel pick-up problem to take top Dunlop honours with second in class and twelfth overall. RLR Motorsport, Signatech Nissan and OAK Racing also finished inside the top six in LMP2 whilst RML could not start due to damage sustained in practice.

Following a 1-2 finish in the first ILMC event at Sebring, BMW’s strong start to the year continued with a third place in the GTE Pro

class, with the team’s second car and the Jota Aston Martin also inside the top six.

Paul Ricard winners JMW Motorsport dropped out of contention for victory with radiator damage but made the most of its Dunlop tyres to set the second quickest GTE lap of the race. Kessel Racing and Krohn Racing both took top eight finishes in the GTE Am class.

LMP1 tyre development partner OAK Racing was forced to miss the race after an accident in qualifying. Its second car had already been withdrawn following an incident at the Le Mans test day. The Quifel-ASM LMP1 entry retired from the race.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours is regarded as one of the most challenging races in motorsport but Dunlop will aim to help BMW tame the circuit known as ‘The Green Hell’ for a second successive season.

Jörg Mueller, Augusto Farfus, Uwe Alzen and Pedro Lamy won the event in 2010 – the latter for a record equally fifth time – and the quartet return to defend their title at the wheel of a BMW M3 GT, with Dirk Müller, Dirk Werner and Dirk Adorf in the sister car.

As well as the factory BMW entry, Dunlop will also supply tyres to Volkswagen as it’s part of an exclusive development partnership. While VW’s entry includes a number of Sciroccos, it is the striking 440bhp Golf24 that will spearhead its challenge – with ex-F1 men

Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell amongst the drivers. In total, three Golf24s are on the entry list for the event.

Also using Dunlop rubber for the event are the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3s of the Rowe Racing and Horn Motorsport teams, while reigning VLN title winners Need for Speed Team Schubert will chase Nürburgring honours with a pair of BMW Z4 GT3s.

With each lap featuring well over 70 corners and running to more than 24km, the Dunlop-shod teams will aim to benefit from the expertise of Dunlop’s technicians to secure victory in a race where it could be argued that the biggest challenge is against the track rather than the rivals on it.

LE MaNS SERIES LMS PODIuMS IN SPa

NÜRBuRGRING 24 hOuR NÜRBuRGRING aWaITS

DuNLOP TO SuPPLY MOTO3

Dunlop Motorsport will supply the tyres for the new Moto3 Championship which starts next year to replace the 125cc World Championship, as well as extending the existing contract to supply Moto2 until at least the end of 2014.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the Catalunya round of MotoGP on Friday June 3 with Sharon Antonaros, Dunlop Europe Motorcycle Marketing Director attending.

“Dunlop participates in motorcycle racing in order to develop our

products and our knowledge of the latest technology,” said Antonaros. This provides benefits for our consumers such as our NTEC and

Multi-Tread technologies which we have enhanced further through our Moto2 relationship. Moto3 is a fantastic new proving ground and we will benefit from being there at the start of the Championship, when the learning curve is at its steepest, and the potential rewards are at their greatest.”

Dunlop continued its remarkable run of success in the legendary French motorcycle 24-hour race, the Bol d’Or, securing the eleventh consecutive win on April 17.

Long-time Dunlop partners, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), proved more than a match for the opposition and they lead from pole position to finish six laps ahead of their nearest rivals, with 814 laps completed.

“It was a fantastic weekend for Dunlop,” said Dunlop Motorsport Service Engineer, Peter Chapman. “At the front of the field, SERT were faultless in their approach. All three riders had the pace to race with the quickest that any other team could throw at them, whilst the crew provided faultless pit stops time and again.”

Endurance racing is one of the best proving grounds for Dunlop’s race to road philosophy, as there are a wide range of track conditions encountered over the course of a 24-hour race. Indeed, the Magny Cours track temperature ranged from 8ºC to 40ºC during the course of the race.

It wasn’t only Dunlop’s race tyres being used either, as the thirtieth-finishing Adrenatem Esprit Moto squad used Dunlop’s GP Racer D211 road-legal trackday tyre.

Dunlop’s eleven consecutive wins at the Bol D’or2001 SUZUKI CASTROL TEAM 2002 SUZUKI CASTROL TEAM2003 SUZUKI CASTROL TEAM2004 SUZUKI CASTROL TEAM2005 SUZUKI2006 SUZUKI CASTROL TEAM2007 YAMAHA GMT 942008 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM2009 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM2010 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM2011 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM

ENDuRaNcE WORLD chaMPIONShIP BOL D”OR

DuNLOP’S ELEVEN hEaVEN

Dunlop’s MOTOcROSS RETuRN

This year marks the comeback of Dunlop to the Motorcross World Championship after many years of absence and six rounds in to the season there have been podiums already.

Honda World Motocross Team rider Evgeny Bobryshev took his first-ever podium in the MX1 class at the Grand Prix of Glen Helen, USA, with third in the overall classifications on May 15 and followed it up a month later with another third place in the GP of Agueda, Portugal.

The operation is overseen by Eddy Seel, a highly successful former motocross and supermoto rider who acts as Dunlop’s Motocross Race Coordinator.

“We have started to get to where we want to be this season as we have twice seen the yellow cap on the podium, in the US and in Portugal,” said Seel.

“This is the reward for the hard work we all do. Our riders know our range very well and can make the right tyre choice for each track, so that they can get the maximum of performance.”

Dunlop supplies teams in MX1 and MX2 with a wide product range, the perfect match for every ground condition. For Dunlop’s Motorcycle Business Unit, confidence is high.

“Dunlop has been back in the Motocross World Championship for a short time now, but it is making a positive evolution,” said Sharon Antonaros (EMEA Marketing and Sales Director, Dunlop Motorcycle Business Unit).

“Our products are very competitive and the interest of teams in our tyres is rising. I am confident that this will continue and that we are on our way back to the top.”

DuNLOP SuPPORTED TEaMS aND RIDERS

honda world Motocross team Evgeny Bobryshev (MX1) Rui Gonçalves (MX1)

nestaan Jacky Martens racing team Joël Roelants (MX2) Jordi Tixier (MX2) Pascal Rauchenecker (MX2) Yentel Martens (MX1)

Yamaha van Beers racing team Marc de Reuver (MX1) Herjan Brakke (MX1) Petar Petrov (MX2)

ls honda Shaun Simpson (MX1) Ken de Dycker (MX1)

BTCC BonAnZA! DONINGTON ThRuXTON

& OuLTON PaRKAction and controversy have been the order of the day in the Dunlop-backed British Touring Car Championship with twelve races now run and five drivers having tasted victory.

After the season opener at Brands Hatch, the field headed to Donington Park where Matt Neal, Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson took a win apiece on a weekend where defending champion Jason Plato suffered a high-speed roll going down the Craner Curves. Somehow, the Chevrolet team got the battered car out for the final race where Plato rewarded them with sixth place.

The quickest circuit on the calendar, Thruxton, saw the wins shared between Gordon Shedden, Neal and Plato with continued debate about parity of performance between the turbo-powered and normally aspirated cars despite a boost reduction for the turbo runners.

Despite a weight reduction for the S2000 cars, Shedden’s turbo-powered Honda took victory in race one at Oulton Park but the Scot was denied a second win of the day when he was taken out by team-mate Neal at the final corner of race two – handing Plato the victory. Jackson’s Ford Focus then took race three honours and he is one of six drivers now covered by 15 points (the equivalent of a race win) at the top of the standings.

Neal is the man to beat with a two point lead over Shedden, with Jackson, James Nash, Plato and Jordan completing those six.

GOING DuTch BRITcaR BaTTLESBritcar races have been dominated by Ferraris thus far in 2011, although with three rounds completed, it is the Class 2 Dodge Viper that heads the championship standings.

Now known as the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship, the series has visited Silverstone, Rockingham and Donington Park already with overall honours having been shared between two teams.

Defending champions Witt Gamski and Keith Robinson took victory in the three-hour Silverstone opener for MJC with their Ferrari 430 but Michael and Sean McInerney then returned to the series for the four-hour event at Rockingham – a race dubbed as one of the best seen in Britcar for years – and promptly secured the win. The father and son pair then repeated the feat at Donington Park to give Eclipse Motorsport its second success of the campaign.

It is however the Class 2 Dodge Viper of Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins that heads the championship after an unbeaten start to the year, with the GT3 Racing team having switched from the British GT Championship over the winter.

In the standings, just 12 points cover the top ten, with plenty of twists to come over the remainder of the year.

In the Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship, the Class 2 SEAT Leon of Alex Osbourne and James May – winner at Donington Park – tops the standings.

However, as in the Endurance Championship, a close-run title fight is developing with 14 points separating the top 13 cars after the opening three races.

With bumper grids of Dunlop-shod cars, Dutch Supercar Challenge continues to go from strength to strength with the 2011 season thus far being no exception.

Six races in, Diederik Sijthoff is the man to beat in the GT class having finished inside the top five in every race in his Speedtec Motorsport-run Dodge Viper, with a win at Donington Park. Sijthoff is currently 17 points clear of closest rival Dave Basu, a winner at Assen in his Corvette, while Roger Grouwels sits third despite missing the season opener.

As yet, no driver has managed to visit the top step of the podium twice in 2011.

Supersport 1 is shaping up to be a close run title fight with Bert

van der Zweede having just two points clear of Wolf Nathan, despite winning the class four times in his BMW M3 Silhoutte. Two DNFs have helped Nathan, a winner at Assen, to stay close in the championship fight.

Supersport 2 is headed by SEAT Leon Supercopa drivers Ferry and Robin Monster, with two wins in six starts giving them a 14 point lead over BMW pair Koen Bogaerts and Mark van der Aa while Aart Bosman started his Sport division campaign with a double win at Zandvoort and leads the class standings by 15 points in his Lotus Exige.

Fellow Lotus driver Guillaume Schulz is his closest challenger, despite the fact he has yet to win in 2011.

© Paul Cherry Photography/Britcar Ltd© Jacqueline Pelsmacker

DuNLOP DOWN uNDERIn 2011, Dunlop is celebrating its 10th consecutive year as the official control tyre of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series.

The V8 Supercars is one of Australia’s largest sports in attendance and television audience and last year around 1.7 million people walked through the gates at V8 Supercars events.

Dunlop provides two option tyres to the series; the standard compound SP Sport Maxx ‘Control’, and the softer option the SP Sport Maxx ‘Sprint’. Designed to create more exciting racing between competitors, the SP Sport Maxx ‘Sprint’ is used both exclusively and in conjunction with the SP Sport Maxx ‘Control’ at select races throughout the season.

“This year teams will receive more than 100 extra SP Sport Maxx

‘Control’ and ‘Sprint’ tyres throughout the season, with considerably more of the softer option being utilised,” Dunlop V8 Supercar Operations Manager Kevin Fitzsimons said.

“There are 15 events on the 2011 calendar and everyone except the Clipsal 500, Phillip Island 500, Bathurst 1000 and Sydney Telstra 500 are featuring Dunlop’s ‘Sprint’ tyres, with Abu Dhabi, Hamilton, Winton, Queensland Raceway, Surfers Paradise, Symmons Plains and Sandown all running the soft compound exclusively.

“After six events and 14 races so far this year, we have had six different winners, with the Dunlop tyres being a major contributor to improving the entertainment spectacle of the series.”

JMW fERRaRI VISITS DuNLOP facTORY

Workers at the Dunlop Motorsport factory in Birmingham were paid a visit by the JMW racing team in the build up to the French classic race, with JMW’s Ferrari 458 yet to wear its new clothes decided by the Dunlop Livery Competition.

The entire team, including drivers, technicians and owner Jim McWhirter, joined in the visit, which included a factory tour and the opportunity to meet the people who design and make the tyres which are a vital element in racing success.

“There are very many motorsport enthusiasts within our organisation and whilst we have an engineering team at each race, working hands-on with the tyres, many of our colleagues do not have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the cars and the people who race them,” said Dunlop Production Director, Ian Taylor.

“This has been a great day and everyone has enjoyed the car and talking to the people who use the product we produce.”

JMW racing team owner Jim McWhirter confirmed the importance of Dunlop to their racing activities. “The right choice of tyre and manufacturer is essential for any team intent on winning. It’s a real partnership, with input from Dunlop throughout the season,” he said.

“It is not just a case of ordering a batch of tyres at the beginning of the year and using them as we go along. It’s been good for our crew to see the amount of engineering and skill that goes into the design and manufacture of each tyre. It has also been delightful to know that the Dunlop Motorsport team has such enthusiasm for our success.”

IDM WINNING STREaKNaTIONaL MOTORcYcLE caTEGORIES NaTIONaL MOTORcYcLE caTEGORIES

cIV uPDaTE AFTER TWO ROUNDS, MISANO AND MONZA.

125 Gp - All competitors are using Dunlop tyres in 2011, a change from last year where rival tyres were seen. After races at Misano and Monza, the leader of the championship is Miroslav ‘Mira’ Popov (Elleci). Miroslav is already showing his strength in the title race after narrowly losing out in the last race of 2010.

Moto2 - This is first year of Moto2 in the Italian championships and after two races, two riders are tied at the top, with Dunlop riders Diego Ciavattini (Es Race) and Mattia Tarozzi (Faenza Racing) both on 36 points.

600 ss - Dunlop’s leading rider in the 600 SS class is Cristiano Erbacci (RB Racing), currently in sixth position in the standings after a crash in the season-opener, the legacy of which affected him in the second. Better things are predicted for the next race in Misano.

superbike - Technical problems for lead Dunlop rider Ivan Goi (Aprilia) meant a top five position in the championship is currently out of reach, with Dunlop’s other hope, Gianluca Nannelli (MM Racing BMW), crashing in first race.

After three events - Lausitzring, Oschersleben, Nürburgring – it’s been a strong start to the season for the IDM.

In the 125cc class, where Dunlop supplies tyres to 70% of the grid, the three races have born three victories, with Dunlop riders first and second in the overall standings.

In Supersport, where 38% of the field are on Dunlops, there have been four wins from six races, with Dunlop riders first and third in the overall standings.

Superbike, meanwhile, sees a clean sweep of wins with six from

six, with the podium in the last three races dominated by Dunlop riders.

“The whole team is working hard and disciplined for our target: winning,” says Ralph Christmann from Dunlop Motorsport Motorcycle, Germany.

“Also our partners on the race track are doing a great job while setting the bikes for victory and giving feedback to the Dunlop technical staff. This is how it works. Only with two-way reliance and with complementary teamwork we are able to fight for the title.”

The 2011 AMA Supercross Championship produced some of the closest racing ever, and it played out in front of packed stadiums across the USA.

Dunlop riders filled the top seven positions in the final standings at the end of an intense 17 rounds held from January till May.

2011 race winners included Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, TwoTwo Motorsports Honda rider Chad Reed, Team San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, American Honda Racing’s Trey Canard and Rockstar/Makita/ Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey.

Entering the season finale at Las Vegas, Villopoto led Reed in the championship chase by nine points, a handy edge that the Kawasaki rider used to good advantage. As the race unfolded, Reed and Dungey battled to the finish, with Reed

taking his second win of the season as Dungey finished runner-up. Understanding full well what was necessary to secure the championship, Villopoto rode a calculated race and finished a solid and secure third to take his first-ever Supercross title.

There were 34 championship races this year between the Supercross and Lites classes, and Dunlop riders won every race, filled every spot on every main event podium, and took all three championships.

Along the way, a number of race wins were posted on the same Geomax tyres Dunlop makes available to the public. While Dunlop strive to supply the best tyres possible to top-level professional racers, they also maintain that same commitment to the avid weekend rider.

DuNLOP DOMINaTIONIN WORLD SuPERcROSS

2011 Supercross Championship Final Standings

1. Ryan Villopoto (Dunlop)2. Chad Reed (Dunlop)3. Ryan Dungey (Dunlop)4. James Stewart (Dunlop)5. Trey Canard (Dunlop)6. Andrew Short (Dunlop)7. Kevin Windham (Dunlop)8. Davi Millsaps9. Justin Brayton10. Nick Wey (Dunlop)

2011 Supercross Lites West Championship Final Standings

1. Broc Tickle (Dunlop)2. Eli Tomac (Dunlop)3. Josh Hansen (Dunlop)4. Cole Seely (Dunlop)5. Ryan Morais (Dunlop)6. Ken Roczen (Dunlop)7. Tyla Rattray (Dunlop)8. Kyle Cunningham (Dunlop)9. Martin Davalos (Dunlop)10. Ben Evans (Dunlop)

2011 Supercross Lites East Championship Final Standings

1. Justin Barcia (Dunlop)2. Dean Wilson (Dunlop)3. Ryan Sipes (Dunlop)4. Blake Baggett (Dunlop)5. Blake Wharton (Dunlop)6. Matt Lemoine (Dunlop)7. Malcolm Stewart (Dunlop)8. Lance Vincent (Dunlop)9. P.J. Larsen (Dunlop)10. Hunter Hewitt (Dunlop)

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a rather unexpected and well regarded overall Le Mans win by Mazda’s highly distinctive sounding Wankel rotary powered 787B piloted by Johnny Herbert, Betrand Gachot and Volker Weidler, and shod on Dunlop tyres. To mark the anniversary, Mazda brought the race winning 787B back to Le Mans for 2011 so La Sarthe reverberated to the rotary once more…

MazDa RETuRNS TO ScENE Of 1991 win wiTh Dunlop

INSIDE RacINGComing to a television or computer screen near you, the Dunlop supported Inside Racing programme offers a fantastic glimpse of motorsport activities around the world, as well as insights into how a racing tyre works. Inside Racing is broadcast around the world and excerpts can be accessed online at: www.youtube.com/user/Dunlopinsideracing

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the scirocco cup.Starts in its second season. Get to know the drivers and see how the first races were decided!

24 hours of nürburgring.Behind the scenes of BMW – the winner of the 2010 race will try to defend the title. The last big challenge for the outgoing BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen.

le Mans 24 hours.The fight for the lead will again be very exciting in 2011. But there are not only the top teams which fascinate but also the cult cars that are huge crowd pullers.

Festival of speed.Behind the scenes of the most legendary motor sport event in Great Britain. Let’s see who the Earl of March invited this year

vw scirocco cup.In its second season the low emission race series is attracting more and more famous drivers such as Strietzel Stuck, Martin Brundle or Jacques Laffite.

a Mustang at the Fhr langstreckencup. Two enthusiasts from Luxembourg and their unbeatable passion for the Ford Mustang.

Dunlop engineers.

A 24-hour race is a challenge not only for teams and drivers, but the Dunlop engineers also have a tough race ahead. Take a look behind the scenes of the tyre supplier at the challenge of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

BMw and Dunlop atthe 24h of le Mans. 2010 wasn’t the year of the BMW team at Le Mans. In 2011 they want to strike back and will be accompanied by the Inside Racing crew!

the campionatoitaliano turismo series.Get to know one of the most popular drivers of this Italian racing series.

Free4style.Incredible tricks and jumps. FMXStar Mat Rebeaud explains the impact on his Dunlop tyres on that action loaded event!

Bike tyres - From track to road.Endurance bike races like Le Mans or the Bol D’Or are crucial for road bike and tyre development.

Bike tyre performance.Fascinating motorcycle technology explained by a motorcycle insider!

Grip and wear.Sand, oil, dirt on the track, changing asphalt conditions. The 24h of Le Mans is a race of extremes – and a tough tyre job!

steering.For fast lap times every driver needs a car that handles predictably. It sounds simple – but it’s not. The interplay of suspension and tyres with the car’s steering is much greater than the turn of a steering wheel might suggest.

speed academy hockenheim.Five young racers and their first tyre lesson to learn. The rookies from the Speed Academy learn how to feel and read their performance..

the campionato italiano turismo series. A popular racing series in Italy. Follow the fans to the race in Imola and get to know the fascination of this series.

Madrid stadium race.Alex Crivillé, Miguel Angel de Castro and Mart Suria on a spectacular racing event at the Calderon, Madrid.

Dunlop livery competition. We follow the winning designer of the 2011 contest and see how his car from OAK Racing will perform!

Dutch supercar challenge.It has got a big variety of cars as well as race events spread over Europe. Meet the drivers and get to know their cars in this popular Dutch racing series!

the Dunlop Drift challenge.It is the national Austrian championship in drifting. Real enthusiasts show us their world of racing.

Gerhard Mitter part ii.The all-rounder competed in several series (F1, Le Mans, Targa Florio) and was also a great engineer. He started to build his own engines for different formula teams and always tried to develop new and extraordinary racing machines.

oldtimer-rallye hamburg-Berlin.We will follow the old-timer drivers on their way from Hamburg to Berlin. It’s a unique event with a lot of fans, prominent drivers and enthusiasts who join the Rallye!

the porsche legend at le Mans.It is the most challenging and the most prestigious race in the world and Porsche is a permanent fixture.

the Goodwood Festival of speed 1.Highlights from the hill climb and the Dunlop stable yard 2011. All the old-timers and their “aged” owners!

French car legends.125th anniversary of French car history – the manufacturers Peugeot and Renault and their early involvement in the first motor sport events.

First BroaDcast 18th JulY

First BroaDcast 4th JulY

First BroaDcast 1st auGust

First BroaDcast 15th auGust

First BroaDcast 13th June

how old are you?Far too old (I don’t remember…)

where do you live?Birmingham UK.

what are the key qualities are required for your job? As General Manager Motorsport EU the key qualities required are a sense of humour, passion and resilience. could you build a tyre yourself if left the keys to the factory? I could build a tyre, but I would not let anybody to fit it on a car or bike.

what is your favourite tyre?The one which will win next race. what’s the best aspect about working for Dunlop?The team spirit and the passion of people for THEIR brand (our blood is more yellow than red).

if you weren’t doing this what would you be doing? Sleeping or making watches (or both in turn). what do you do away from work?Running, reading, sleeping, seeing my family (not enough) and there are so many things that I’d like to do that we will need 14 other “Ten questions with .....” to exhaust the subject.

which is your favourite circuit to visit and why?I have three: Le Mans because of the bridge, the heritage, the ambiance at 24 Hours races. Spa because of the track layout, the surrounding, the food. Ledenon (France) because it is where I drove a racing car for the first time (an Alpine A310 Group 4 in 1981).

what car do you drive / bike do you ride?I drive an Audi (and dream of a Lotus Elan Sprint, the same as Emma Peel in “The Avengers”*). I ride a mountain bike. * In fact Emma Peel had a S2 and then a S3 Lotus and never a Sprint (but I love the pistachio green / white one)

10QuESTIONSWITh JEaN-féLIX BazELIN

JuneJune 23-26 24 HOUR GT - NURBURGRING 24

June 23-25 MOTO2 - ASSEN TT, NETHERLANDS June 25-26 INTERNATIONAL GT OPEN / EUROPEAN F3 OPEN – SPA FRANCORCHAMPS - BEGIUM

JulYJulY 2-3 INTERNATIONAL GT OPEN – NüRBURGRING, GERMANYJulY 3 MOTO2 – MUGELLO, ITALYJulY 3 LE MANS SERIES / INTERCONTINENTAL LE MANS CUP – IMOLA, ITALY JulY 3 MX – UDDEVALA, SWEDEN JulY 8-10 AMA SUPERBIKE – MID-OHIO, LEXINGTON, OHIO, USAJulY 8-10 V8 SUPERCARS – TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIAJulY 8-9 ALMS – NORTH EAST GRAND PRIX, LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT, USAJulY 9-10 WORLD ENDURO – GP OF ROMANIAJulY 10 CEV – ALBACETE, SPAIN JulY 10 MX – TEUTSCHENTHAL, GERMANY JulY 15-17 MOTO2 – SACHSENRING, GERMANY JulY 17 MX - KEGUMS, LATVIA JulY 17 DUTCH SUPERCAR CHALLENGE – ZOLDER, BELGIUMJulY 22-24 AMA SUPERBIKE – US GRAND PRIX, LAGUNA SECA, CALIFORNIA, USAJulY 23-24 INTERNATIONAL GT OPEN / EUROPEAN F3 OPEN - BRANDS HATCH, UKJulY 22-24 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES – MOSPORT INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADAJulY 30-31 24 HOUR GT - SPA 24JulY 31 ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - SUZUKA 8HRJulY 31 MX - LOMMEL, LIMBURG, BELGIUM

auGustauGust 6-7 BTCC – SNETTERTON, UKauGust 7 MX – LOKET, CZECH REPUBLICauGust 7 DUTCH SUPERCAR CHALLENGE – ASSEN, NETHERLANDSauGust 12-14 AMA SUPERBIKE – VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, VIRGINIA, USAauGust 12-14 BRITCAR – SNETTERTON, UKauGust 12-14 MOTO2 – BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC

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