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ROAD RACE Dunlop Daytona Tire test STORY AND PHOTOS By HENNY RAY ABRAMS Dunlop has become a victim of its own success. This past season, the mostly British firm supported so many World Superbike teams, plus all of the AMA Superbike teams, virtually all of the 250cc World Championship teams, and so much of the British Championship field that they struggled to keep up with production. Making race tires is an exacting exercise, far more rigorous than the building of street tires, and most of the race tires are built at the factory in Birmingham, England. The load became so great last summer that they weren't able to produce tires for the Dunlop Daytona tire test, so it was scuttled, even though they'd begun the order. It wasn't the December test that 26 JANUARY 9, 2002' eye I e was called off, it was the far more selective August test. Every August, Dunlop invites two teams to Daytona to sort through a preliminary batch of compounds, shapes and sizes. The data from the August test is collated and tires are produced for the allinclusive December test. With the cancellation of the August test, the complexion of the December test changed. "There's only one chance to get it right," Dunlop's road racing boss, Jim Allen, said."Just a little bit extra pressure to make sure we got it right. We did reduce the number of specs, that's fair to say. We get rid of lots of odds and ends in August. We didn't have as many options in December as we did in August." Judging from the reaction of the riders, Dunlop got it right, both with their race tires and the qualifjers. American Honda's Nicky Hayden n e _ s turned the fastest lap ever around the 3.56-mile road course, a lap of 1:48.141 - just under the 1:48.424 Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin turned to take the pole for the 2001 Daytona 200. "Grip, just grip," Hayden said about the difference in the new tires. "And that's a big key around here especially the qualifier. That thing was a lot better as far as how long it lasted." "There's a couple of tires that Dunlop had here that are definitely something we have to look at come race time," said Mladin, who's won the past two Daytona 200s. "The trusty old tire that we've used the last couple of years is still pretty good, the 311/587. It's still a pretty good tire. You've got to get a bike that's going to try and be within a second of what it's done when you first get out Miguel DuHamel (17) gives a spin-class lesson to NicIcy Hayden during the recent Dunlop tire test at Daytona Int&mationaI Speedway, Hayden was a good student, as he later went on to record the fastest time of the ~ test. there; it's going to do the same on the 20th lap." Allen said that there were two new front sizes in two differe,nt compounds, a 125 width instead of a 120 and two near rears, 10mm wider with a larger contact patch, in two race compounds each, both of them taller, a change tried from midyear on in last year's World Superbike tires. There were also several new qualifying tires, for which the riders were grateful. In March, the tires would often not make a full lap. The same thing happened at this test, though with less regularity. The March qualifiers will be more durable.