DUNLOP'S NEW DT4 DIRT TRACK TIRE
P94
Feature
teams and our fans. Our plan all along
was to introduce this new-generation
tire for the 2020 season alongside
our new AFT SuperTwins class, which
would meld the best tires on the very
best bikes being ridden by the world's
top riders. And that's what's going to
happen this coming season."
"When we sat down with the AFT
folks," says Buckley, "we knew right
away we were on the same page.
All we had to do was take an already
good tire and improve it in every area.
Simple, right? [Laughs.] But we knew
that by bringing our technical might to
the effort, we'd be able to do it. And
looking at the result now, I believe we
absolutely have."
Buckley's humorous sarcasm about
improving an already good tire is by no
means an exaggeration; just reading
the list of goals is thoroughly daunting:
Improve grip via compounds, car-
cass construction and tread design.
Improve feedback to rider. Improve
cooling for high-speed, high-heat
tracks. Improve durability. Improve
straight-line stability. Improve start
performance (less squirm). Improve
production consistency (exact same
tire for everyone). Improve cushion-
track performance. Improve applica-
tion friendliness (work well on more
bike types). Improve safety. Improve
compound breadth (two instead of
three). And oh yeah, and do all this for
about the same price as the old tire.
Easy, right?
The development process for the
DT4 would be different; conserva-
tive in some ways, much like the DT3
remake, because Dunlop didn't want
(Above)
Technology in
AFT race
equipment has
changed over
the years, yet
tire technology
has not kept up.
Until now. (Right)
The new Dunlop
DT4 tires, which
are tubeless, will
make their debut
in 2020 at the AFT
season opener.
