Dunlop: New Records Set at Barber AMA Pro Road Racing

Dunlop Motorcycle Racing News

Dunlop, the AMA Pro Racing spec-tire manufacturer, was able to highlight some of its ongoing developments of motorcycle tires after setting a new lap record in once class, and three other fastest-lap records at Barber Motorsports Park.

In the American SuperBike Class, Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha R1 rider Josh Hayes won both races despite being hounded relentlessly all weekend by National Guard/Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden.

In the process, Hayden set a new SuperBike fastest race lap at Barber of 1.25.2 during Saturday’s race, a half-second faster than the 2012 fastest race lap. The pace was exceptionally fast with Hayes and Hayden lapping in the mid-1.25s for most of the duration of both races.

The performance of the domestically developed and produced Dunlop 200/55R17 KR449 slicks was stellar, with amazing consistency during both races despite track temperatures topping 118 degrees. Case in point: on lap 20 of Saturday’s race Hayden turned an impressive 1.25.6 despite the wear and brutal temperatures.

In the Daytona SportBike class, all riders competed on Sportmax D211GP-A tires designed and produced in Buffalo. During Saturday’s qualifying session, Cameron Beaubier and his Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha R6 set a new lap record in qualifying with a 1.27.2, which was 0.2 of a second faster than the previous record. He backed up that effort with a new fastest race lap during race 2, turning a lap time of 1.27.4 seconds, which was 0.8 of a second faster than the fastest race lap in 2012.

With the entire SuperSport field likewise mounted aboard US-made Sportmax D211 GP-A DOT-approved tires, 16-year-old Joe Roberts celebrated his birthday and AMA racing debut by winning both races in impressive fashion aboard his California Superbike School/Roadracingworld.com Honda CBR600RR. In the process, Roberts dominated the racing and set a new fastest race lap for the class in race 2 with a remarkable time of 1.29.0, nearly a second faster than the previous year. Veteran Steve Rapp topped the fastest race lap during the Harley-Davidson XR1200 race aboard D211 GP-A tires as he lowered the previous class fastest race lap by a full second, posting a 1.34.6 time that demolished the 1.35.6 fast-lap mark set only a year ago in 2012.

Dunlop extends its thanks and congratulations to all of the racers who worked so hard over the weekend, with a special shout-out to the four riders who set lowered race times. As the spec-tire supplier to AMA Pro Road Racing, Dunlop never ceases its ongoing development of race tires, and the performance at Barber serves as proof that racing continues to improve the breed—advancements that we incorporate into the Dunlop street tires available to all riders.

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