IN TOUCHMOTORSPORT NEWS ISSUE 8 NOVEMBER ’09

THIS ISSUE:LMS 125GP FINaLEBMW MOTORSPORTPaRTNERSHIP

250GP END OF aN ERa

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The European-based Le Mans Series proved to be as competitive as ever in every class contested by Dunlop, and the tyre manufacturer was again able to celebrate championship success, this time in the Le Mans Prototype 2 class with the Portuguese Quifel Team aSM, and in the GT1 class for high-powered production cars with the French Luc alphand aventures Corvette team.

The aSM team won twice in five races, and were second at the season opener in Barcelona. Drivers Miguel amaral and Olivier Pla had a nine-point lead over their rivals heading into the final race, and with one point available for fastest time in qualifying, Dunlop brought a development qualifying tyre to the

Silverstone to secure that extra point which would have decided the title.

as it was, the title was won before the cars turned a wheel as the second-placed team had financial difficulties and were unable to race at Silverstone, but pole position was secured anyway by the Quifel team before the start of the six-hour race. In GT1, the Corvette also won two of the five races, and was second in two more which was enough for Yann Clairay and Patrice Goueslard to claim the title. The competition was fierce in the GT2 class between the JMW Ferrari 430 team, with Gianmaria Bruni and Rob Bell defending their

drivers’ title, and the Felbermayr Porsche team. The Ferrari benefited Dunlop’s continuous development programme, and was able to win twice, at the six hour night race in Portimao, Portugal, and the season finale at Silverstone mid-September.

Bruni and Bell looked to be heading for the title at the Nurburgring, Germany, at the end of august before a driveshaft failed at quarter distance. With no points scored, the Porsche moved back into the lead of the drivers’ standings ahead of the final race at Silverstone.

There, nothing less than a win would do for the team, which trailed the Porsche by eight

points. The Porsche applied even more pressure when its driver Richard Lietz scored a point for pole position lap, which gave it a nine-point cushion over the Dunlop-shod Ferrari, with only ten available for a win. Bell and Bruni, with Dunlop, obliged, winning the race handsomely, while the Porsche hit engine problems which dropped it out of the point-scoring position. Unfortunately as the Porsche struggled around on five cylinders two cars ahead of it retired, moving it into a title winning position. The Porsche finished seventh, enough to take the title by a single point!

a TaSTE OF VICTORY IN a SEaSON OF LMS FOR DUNLOP

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as the 24hr of Dubai gets underway next year and celebrates its 5th anniversary it will do so with Dunlop as its new title sponsor. The series will see Dunlop exclusively supplying all tyres for the endurance event and will be the first year of a three year contract.

The 24hr of Dubai will start on the 14th January at the Dubai autodrome, endurance racing fans can expect to see at least 80 racing cars line up on the grid, supported by a full Dunlop track side service. The tyre manufacturer will bring extensive experience in motor racing to the series, being

the exclusive supplier to the adrenalin fuelled DTM race series and has proved to deliver race winning rubber when in competition with other tyre manufacturers as seen in the classic LMS and GT Open classes.

“Dunlop is very pleased with this three year deal for the 24HR of Dubai,” said Gary Wassell, Manager, Dunlop Motorsport EU. “Of course we have been watching the development of the event over the years. We are very much impressed by the good atmosphere of this international event and the rapid growth it went through in such a short period of time. Next to our status as the title sponsor and exclusive tyre supplier, Dunlop hopes to contribute to the continuing development of the event.”

DUNLOP TaKES TITLE SPONSORSHIP FOR THE 24HR OF DUBaI

Audi achieved history when the German manufacturer secured the first hat trick of titles in the Dunlop supplied Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series. Timo Scheider, the reigning champion from 2008, scored the necessary points to claim his second drivers’ championship at the season final at Hockenheim in his Dunlop shod Audi A4. His title follows those of Hans Stuck in 1990, Frank Biela in 1991, Laurent Aiello in 2002, and Matias Ekstrom in 2004 and 2007 for the manufacturer. This year, the Audi A4 was the fastest car in qualifying, setting eight out of ten pole position laps, but it was the Mercedes C-Class which scored the most race victories, winning six times to Audi’s four.

Gary Paffett scored four of Mercedes’ wins, including the end of year at Hockenheim after a wonderful battle with Ekstrom which lasted until the Audi retired with a holed radiator. The British driver secured second place in the drivers’ standings. Although the champion Scheider won only twice all season, he also recorded four second place finishes, scoring in every round to take the title by five points.

Paul di Resta and Jamie Green also added their names to the winners list for Mercedes, and the manufacturer was comfortably able to claim the teams’ title. Martyn Tomczyk led an Audi 1-2-3-4 finish at the Nurburgring mid-season, and Tom

Kristensen won the season opener at Hockenheim to complete the list of Audi winners. The association with the DTM series is one of Dunlop’s most prestigious in racing, with thousands of race fans flocking to the circuits around Germany, France, Holland and England to watch these great manufacturers race each other with cars that closely resemble their best-selling models.

Each car races exclusively on Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres, and the tyre manufacturer actively supports the teams to develop the ultimate race set-up for the race, and qualifying. “In the DTM, the slightest details count for the preparation of the cars,” says Dunlop’s motorsport manager Michael Bellmann.

“Countless factors play a role for the set-up of a DTM car: weight distribution, aerodynamics, springs, shock absorbers and the best possible tyres for the different racing conditions. A little bit more risk or slightly altered outside conditions can decide victory or defeat pretty quickly.”

DUNLOP ROUNDS UP a SUCCESSFUL YEaR IN DTM

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Having worked closely with BMW Motorsport to help develop the BMW M3 GT2, Dunlop and BMW Motorsport announced on the 3rd October that they were entering into a long-term technical partnership. The two leading motorsport brands intend to build on their recent work and capitalize on their mutual extensive experience in racing

and commitment to excellence on the track. Both Dunlop and BMW strongly believe in transferring technology from the race track to the road to further benefit their customers

Dunlop will continue to supply tyres for the BMW M3 GT2 in the american Le Mans Series whilst working to help further develop the GT sports car. The Birmingham based tyre manufacturer will also bring their race experience to BMW customers, supplying customer racing cars such as the BMW M3 GT4 with their race proven rubber.“It is a well known fact that BMW builds highly efficient

production and racing cars. Therefore, Dunlop brings a great deal of new technologies into the partnership,” adds Frédéric Schilling, Dunlop Marketing Director for Europe and the Middle East. “Furthermore, our cooperation also is interesting regarding our joint group target. We are planning joint activities in this area too.”

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen says: “We have already worked closely, and extremely successfully, with Dunlop when developing the BMW M3 GT2. I am pleased that we can now build on this partnership in the long term. BMW Motorsport and Dunlop have a very similar approach to racing: it is all about transferring the experience gained on the race track to series models, thus allowing us to offer products with even higher performance levels. The technology transfer has always been of great importance to both sides.”

BMW MOTORSPORT LOOK TO THE FUTURE WITH DUNLOP

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Dunlop scored outstanding victories at the first ever Asian Le Mans Series race, held at the Okayama circuit in Japan at the end of October. The tyre manufacturer provided winning products to the

BMW Rahal Letterman team in the GT2 class, and to the OAK Racing LMP2 team which earned an automatic entry to next year’s Le Mans 24 hours.

The race was split into two three-hour races on Saturday and Sunday morning. The aggregate score from the two races decided an overall winner in each class and with victory in both races, the OAK Racing team of Jacques Nicolet, Mathieu Layahe and Richard Hein was the undisputed champion.The BMW team normally competes in the American Le Mans Series but, with the Robertson Racing team

Ford GT, made the trip over to Japan to take part in this inaugural race. Both teams showed strongly in the GT2 class, taking turns to lead both races against the Porsches and Ferraris from Europe.

In the first race, the Rahal Letterman team played a fantastic strategic game. Teams are not allowed to refuel and change tyres at the same time for safety reasons, and so the BMW relied on Dunlop’s tyre to last for two stints in the hands of Tom Milner. That gave him track advantage over the chasing Porsche, which was on fresh tyres, but Milner was

able to hold onto the lead, and crossed the line with a margin of just 0.2s.

In the second race, the Porsche initially led the way, but the Ford and BMW proved to be the faster cars. Only mechanical problems prevented them from taking victory; the Ford suffering a broken throttle cable while leading, and the BMW had a failed starter motor at the final pit stop.

DUNLOP CLaIMS VICTORY IN aSIaN LE MaNS DEBUT

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250GP - END OF aN ERaDUNLOP CELEBRaTES ITS FINaL 250GP VICTORY

as Hector Barbera crossed the line at Valencia it marked the end of an era as he became the last ever 250cc GP winner. 250 GP ceases to be a world championship class, and is replaced by the new Moto2 category in the new 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP line up from 2010.

Barbera’s ride to victory gave Dunlop their 493rd and final GP250 race win in the World Championship since it first started in 1949, making an incredible 69% success rate over the unbroken 60 year history. Hiroshi aoyama, finishing in seventh, claimed his first title which is also the 36th World Championship title in the 250cc class for Dunlop, and their 17th consecutive crown.

Dunlop’s first taste of GP250 victory came at the inaugural race of the 250cc World Championship on 17th June 1949 at the Isle of Man TT. Irish MotoGuzzi rider Manliff Barrington gave the tyre manufacturer their first 250GP win, averaging 125 km/h over the 425 km race distance!

a roll call of the 250cc champions shows why Dunlop can claim an instrumental role in providing the right tyres to take so many iconic riders of the past and present to victory in GP 250. Max Biaggi took the title on Dunlop tyres four consecutive times between 1994 – 1997 and, with Phil Read, holds the record for most GP 250 titles. He was followed by Loris Capirossi in 1998 and the now MotoGP dominating Valentino Rossi in 1999. Oliver Jacque beat team-mate Shinya Nakano to the 2000 title by less than one-tenth of a second at the final race, whilst Daijiro Kato dominated in 2001, winning 11 of the 16 races. Marco Melandri notched up Dunlop’s 100th consecutive victory on his way to the 2002 Championship.Dani Pedrosa took the 2004 and 2005 titles, whilst fellow

Spaniard, and now Rossi team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo cut his teeth on Dunlop tyres to take the title in 2006 and 2007. Marco Simoncelli delivered Dunlop’s 200th consecutive victory on his way to the 2008 title, and aoyama takes his place as the last ever 250cc world champion.

Dunlop’s success in the class, in particular over the last 20 years, results from their determination to be the best supplier on the grid. a strengthened track-side service and constantly better product saw the brand go from chasing rival Michelin in the mid-eighties to dominating the class with 24 of the 28 riders choosing Dunlop by 1991.

Over the years Dunlop has used the 250 class to develop and refine several technological milestones. Dual compound tyres were evaluated in 1996 and the Multi-Tread compound philosophy, now standardized in all Dunlop’s road going hyper and supersport tyres, was developed during 2004 and used for the 250 category from 2005.

Valencia may mark the end of one era, but it also marks the start of another. Several Moto2 teams will make their testing debut at the Valencia circuit next week. The new 600cc Honda engined class will be a single tyre series, Dunlop having been awarded the prestigious contract for three years by the Grand Prix Commission on the back of their long and successful commitment to the 250 race class and delivering a highly professional race track service to race teams. The new class will be a perfect testing ground for Dunlop to continue to develop top level racing tyres and transfer the technology learnt to the next generation of high performance road tyres.

With 37 entries confirmed from 23 teams to compete in the 2010 Moto2 World Championship, Dunlop looks forward to continue to build on its unparalleled history and reputation as a tyre partner in the World Championship. Some riders, including Toni Elias on the Honda Gresini Moriwaki, began testing at Valencia on Monday and Tuesday of this week following the GP race, whilst others will start to test at the beginning of December.

The first World Championship race for Moto2 will be under the night-time floodlights at Qatar on april 11th 2010.

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Bancaja Aspar rider Julián Simón rounded up his championship winning year in style at Valencia at the weekend, taking the chequered flag to wrap up the year with the final victory, his third consecutive race win, under his belt. Simón’s team mate Bradley Smith had led for a greater part of the race but ran wide, allowing Simón through to take the lead, which he kept to the line. British rider Smith crossed just 0.22 seconds behind him, confirming his second place in the championship. Derbi Racing’s Pol Espargaró finished

in third, which was enough to give him the fourth spot in the championship, while Nico Terol needed only to finish in tenth to secure third in the standings behind Bradley Smith.

Although the riders enjoyed a dry track all weekend to simplify tyre choice it was weather in the form of strong winds that caused the biggest problems. Riders were struggling to control their incredibly light 125cc machines as gusts of wind crossed the Spanish circuit.

WORLD CHaMPION JULIÁN SIMÓN TaKES THE FINaL 125GP VICTORY OF 2009

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Dunlop tyres were clearly the choice for success at the albacete European Championship with an impressive 92.5% of the grid choosing to race on them at the single event championship. 30th October to 1st November saw 107 riders from across Europe taking to the Spanish circuit to fight it out in the Superstock, Supersport and 125cc races. Reigning 2008 Superstock champion Carmelo Morales made short work of defending his title. The quickest rider of the weekend in most sessions, Morales was hotly pursued by Bernat Martinez in the race but held on retain the title for the second year. English rider Kev Coghlan took the Supersport honours on Dunlop D211 NTEC slicks after battling with Javier Fores and adrian Bonastre in the early stages of the race. In the 125cc class Dunlop was the choice for 38 of the 40 rid-ers competing. Marcel Schrotter proved to be the man of the weekend, taking both pole position on the grid and the subsequent race win.

DUNLOP DOMINaTES THE GRID aT THE aLBaCETE EUROPEaN CHaMPIONSHIP

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www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu

/ race-derived multi-tread technology for outstanding straight-line traction and increased cornering grip

/ faster warm-up and excellent grip in both wet and dry conditions

/ carcass tension control system (ctcs) for enhanced contact patch and greater stability

/ Jointless belt (Jlb) rear tire for high speed stability and shock absorption

Race bRed. Fully Road qualiFied.THe new SpoRTmax qualiFieR ii

‘THe moST veRSaTile dunlop TyRe HaS been ReinvenTed: THiS iS THe qualiFieR ii. HoneST on THe TRack, exalTing on weT and dRy condiTionS wiTH opTimum gRip: SinceRiTy and manageabiliTy aRe iTS STRongeST poinTS.’

Jacopo Zizza, (Italy) MOTOCICLISMO - 04/2009

‘THe cHaRacTeRiSTicS oF THe qualiFieR ii makeS iT exTRemely veRSaTile in uSe, cauSing iT To peRFoRm well FoR boTH RaceTRack and SpoRTS TouRing needS.’

Peter Schmidt, (Germany) GUMMIBEREIFUNG - 04/2009

‘Handling capabiliTy, gRip, good on weT, eFFicienTly upgRaded, wiTH THe objecTive To bRing THe qualiFieR ii aT THe Top oF THe league.’

Jean-Francois Robert, (France) MOTO JOURNAL 04/2009

‘iT’S cleaR dunlop HaS puT iTSelF on Top oF THe SpoRTS bike TyRe pile.’

Michael Neeves, (UK) MCN - 04/2009

‘aFTeR THe TeSTing oF THe TyRe aT THe miReval launcH, i am convinced by THe qualiTy oF qualiFieR ii, THaT´S wHy i will oRdeR THem FoR my bike aS well.’

Renaud Amand, (Belgium) MOTORRIJdER 04/2009