MRW Issue 1

RACING PAGES
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
DUNLOP’S RACE TO ROAD PHILOSOPHY
With engineers and designers across Europe, Japan and North America, Dunlop boast
a truly global Research & Development operation with innovations quickly put to the
toughest test of all – racing. With innovations such as low profile tyre shapes, radial
constructions, directional and constant curve tread designs, aramid casing materials,
Multi-Tread (MT) technology as well as JLT – all directly developed through our passion
for motorsport. What they have learnt on the track, they apply on the road, in fact,
Dunlop were the first to apply race tyre performance standards to street tyres.
Dunlop invented the pneumatic
tyre back in 1888 to
win races and they’ve never
looked back. To this day
Dunlop continues to break
records, their recent success
at Isle of Man TT confirmed
their reputation as the tyre
to have at the TT. Continued
dominance in the FIM Endurance
World Championship,
along with dozens of national
championships and the men’s
and women’s MXGP wins.
TT legend John McGuinness
chose Dunlop for each
of his wins on the Island.
Dunlop was the choice of
for the first 100mph production
lap in 1969 and since then
we’ve claimed the absolute
speed records of 127mph,
128mph, 129mph, 130mph,
131mph, 132mph, 133mph and
the new 2018 Peter Hickman
landmark of 135mph.
Away from the TT, Dunlop
invests heavily in the world
Moto2 and Moto3 world
championships, supplying
all the tyres. This means that
over the years Dunlop has had
crucial input from the likes of
Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales,
Johan Zarco, Jack Miller,
Brad Binder… the list goes on
and on.
In the FIM World Motocross
Championship, Dunlop is the
choice of top teams such as
Monster Energy Kawasaki
MXGP and our winning Geomax
MX-33 tyres are available
for all off-road riders.
Dunlop is also the most
successful tyre brand in Endurance
Racing. Teams such
as SERT Suzuki and GMT94
Yamaha have chosen Dunlop
to win championships – relying
on our enduring performance
in races such as the
Bol d’Or, Le Mans 24 hours
and Suzuka 8 hours.
With that kind of expertise,
it’s not surprising that
the race tyres develop so
fast, and that so much useful
technology cascades down
to road-going tyres such as
the Q4 and RoadSmart III –
RoadSmart III’s Nano-Technology
compound that grips
more and yet lasts longer,
for example, stemmed from
improving race performance
not just in Moto2 and
Moto3 but in the Endurance
World and MotoAmerica
championships too.
Dunlop has come a long
way since May 18, 1889,
when Willie Hume destroyed
the competition
in a Belfast cycle event by
winning four of the day’s
five races using pneumatic
tyres invented the previous
year by John Boyd Dunlop.
It was the dawn of Dunlop’s
drive to win – a spirit which
continues to this day.