AFT DAYTONA DUNLOP TIRE TEST
P126
Feature
J
ust some 20 miles up the road
from Daytona International
Speedway, Progressive Ameri-
can Flat Track and Dunlop Motorcycle
Tires gathered with more than a doz-
en of the sport's most accomplished
riders at Volusia Speedway Park.
Despite featuring a different disci-
pline of motorcycle sport, the two-day
Dunlop Tire Test existed as something
of a spiritual successor to the Day-
tona Tire Tests that once attracted the
road racing world's attention during
the AMA Superbike Championship's
halcyon days.
Dunlop arrived at the test with a clear
objective: identify a medium-compound
tire that offered feel and confidence in
line with the DT4's softer R5 com-
pound, along with durability more
similar to that of the harder R9.
By inviting 14 elite riders and their
teams to provide feedback on five
different medium-compound candi-
dates via exhaustive blind tests over
two days, they were well positioned to
accomplish exactly that.
Of course, there are extensive road
racing roots found within the ranks
of AFT's brass. This allowed them
to understand that the magic of the
Daytona Tire Tests ran far deeper
than just the technological and safety
advancements they made possible.
Rather than hide the testing behind
closed doors, the Daytona Tire Tests
of old served as an annual preview
Many of the top flat
trackers in the country
headed to Florida to
provide feedback for a new
Dunlop tire for AFT racing,
and also gave us a preview
of things to come for next
year's championship
DAYTONA TIRE
- FLAT TRACK
STYLE
BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT HUNTER
