DUNLOP'S NEW DT4 DIRT TRACK TIRE
P92
Feature
and new racetracks, change was
bound to come in AFT's spec-tire
formula, and now it has.
"Professional flat track rac-
ing in America has changed a
lot over the last few years under
Michael Lock's leadership,"
says Dunlop Senior Vice Presi-
dent Mike Buckley, a guy who's
helped manage Dunlop for nearly
30 years in the U.S. "And with
all that change came the need
for a new-generation tire for the
series. In the twins class alone
you've got new Harley-Davidson
XG750Rs and Indian FTR750s,
which are pretty different from the
XR750s that'd been the staple for
so many years. You've also got a
bunch of Kawasakis and Yama-
has in the mix now, and probably
some all-new twins coming for
2020 or 2021 from other manu-
facturers. You've also got new
racetracks on the circuit, some
of which are pretty demanding
and some that make it extremely
difficult for one tire to cover,
capability-wise. So yeah, it was
time."
"PROFESSIONAL FLAT TRACK RACING IN AMERICA HAS CHANGED A LOT OVER THE
LAST FEW YEARS UNDER MICHAEL LOCK'S LEADERSHIP. AND WITH ALL THAT CHANGE
CAME THE NEED FOR A NEW-GENERATION TIRE FOR THE SERIES." — DUNLOP SENIOR VICE
tracks and TTs—with a dizzying
array of surfaces and conditions:
hard, soft, clay, pea gravel, loose
cushion, bumpy, smooth, rocky,
sandy, wet, dry and everything in
between, including a little tri-oval
asphalt at Daytona. One tire has
had to do all this safely and without
failure, over and over, weekend
after weekend, year after year.
But after so many years and so
many changes in the professional
flat track world over the last hand-
ful of seasons, with new motorcy-
cles, new rules, new technology
