28 April 2016 Moto2 & Moto3 InFocus: May Dunlop s Successful New Moto2 Rear Returns For Le Mans The 2016 FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships continue their European leg with rounds five and six at Le Mans, France (8 May) and Mugello, Italy (22 May). Pitching the best of the world s rising motorcycle stars head to head aboard Dunlop-shod bikes, the first of the two rounds sees the return of the new Moto2 rear tyre in France, following its successful debut at Jerez last weekend. April Recap Argentina, Texas and Jerez From the four races so far in 2016, each race across Moto2 and Moto3 have had a different winner, with 14 different riders on the podium across both championships. Round two took place on a damp Termas Rio do Honda track in Argentina, where riders chose a varied combination of tyre fitments, and saw Khairul Idham Pawi claim his first Moto3 win in just three races. Johann Zarco returned to the top step of the podium on which he secured his first ever win last year. At the Circuit of the Americas, Texas for round three, the experience of Romano Fenati shone through as he claimed his seventh win in Moto3, while Alex Rins secured his third Moto2 victory. Round four saw the riders begin their European tour in Spain, and witnessed the debut of the new soft tyre for Moto2. In FP1 Takaaki Nakagami set a new record lap, 0.25 under the 2011 lap record on the new Moto2-0 rear. In qualifying, Sam Lowes set a new pole record of 1`42.408, with ten riders under last year s pole time and one second covered the first twenty riders. 29 riders opted for the new rear
tyres in the race, as a result, the race was four seconds faster than last year. In Moto3 the first five riders were under last year s pole time, while winner Brad Binder achieved the biggest comeback in MotoGP history, coming from the back to take his first ever win and tenth podium. #ForeverForward 2016 After five races, the Dunlop #ForeverForward Award continues to reward riders improvements from their start to finish positions, with Moto3 riders claiming the honours. In Argentina John McPhee moved up 21 places to take the top spot, while in Texas it was Aron Canet who made the biggest improvement, 15 places up from his start position. In Jerez, Brad Binder stormed his way from the back of the grid to take his first race victory, gaining 35 places along the way. #ForeverForward after five rounds: 1. Brad Binder (Moto3) 48 2. Maria Herrera (Moto3) 34 3. Dominique Aegerter (Moto2) 33 4. Hafizh Syahrin (Moto2) 31 5. Isaac Vinales (Moto2) 29 6. Mattia Pasini (Moto2) 29 The full #ForeverForward table can be seen here. Round 5: Le Mans, France 8 May This event marks the second appearance of the new specification soft rear tyre (MS0) for Moto2 following its successful debut in Jerez. Le Mans is a tight track dominated by first gear corners that place the emphasis on late braking and hard acceleration, whilst rear end traction is also a key area.
Le Mans Track Facts: Length: 4.2km Left Turns: 5 Right Turns: 9 Energy level: Low Left:right bias: 40% / 60% Le Mans Tyre Allocation: Moto2 Front: Soft '1'/ Medium '2' Rear: MS0/ Soft '1' Moto3 Front: Soft/Medium Rear: Soft 'S1'/ Medium 'M1' Le Mans 2015 Highlights Moto3 race was eight seconds faster than the previous year Moto2 race was 14 seconds faster than last year Moto3 qualifying was only dry for four laps, two seconds a lap slower than the race fastest lap Alex Rins set a new Moto2 pole record time of 1 37.114 Thomas Luthi broke the Moto2 lap record (1 37.281) by half a second with a further 17 laps under the old lap record Round 6: Mugello, Italy 22 May Mugello s combination of slow and fast turns with sweeping curves, long straights and off-camber corners makes it one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar
Mugello Track Facts: Length: 5.2km Left Turns: 6 Right Turns: 9 Energy level: Mid Left:right bias: 40% / 60% Mugello Tyre Allocation: Moto2 Front: Soft '1'/ Medium '2' Rear: Soft 1 / Hard '3' Moto3 Front: Soft/Medium Rear: Soft 'S1'/ Medium 'M1' Mugello 2015 Highlights Moto3 rider Danny Kent set a new pole record in qualifying 1 56.615, half a second faster than 2014 Brad Binder set a new Moto3 lap record 1 57.318 Top five Moto3 rider were under the lap record time The Moto3 race was 6.5 seconds faster than the previous year Sam Lowes set a new Moto2 pole record lap of 1 51.514 Tito Rabat broke the race lap record for Moto2 in 1 52.530 Every Moto3 and Moto2 record broken 2016 Season Tyre Specifications The 2016 specification tyres remain similar to last season but Moto3 sees the introduction of H3 for the rears, a tyre closer to medium in characteristics than
2015 s H2. The H3 offers at least the same performance, but with increased durability. This year in response to rider feedback Moto2 riders will have the option of the slightly firmer H4, offering similar performance but increased durability compared to the alternative H3 favoured in 2015 at certain race tracks. Moto2 Soft 1 (black Dunlop on yellow) Front & Rear Medium 2 (black on silver) Front & Rear Hard 3 (yellow on black) Front & Rear Hard 4 (white on black) Rear only Special Hard S1 (black on yellow) Rear only Special Hard S2 (black on silver) Rear only Moto3 Soft S / S1 (black on yellow) Front & Rear Medium M / M1 (black on silver) Front & Rear Hard H3 (yellow on black) Rear -ends- For more information on Dunlop, visit or follow us on Twitter @DunlopMoto Contact: James Bailey +44 7770 682413 motorsport@dunloppress.eu About Dunlop Dunlop is one of the world s leading manufacturers of high and ultra high performance tyres with an impressive track record of motor sport successes. Dunlop is a technical partner of Suzuki Endurance Race Team, Honda Racing in Endurance Racing, Kawasaki and Team HRC in MXGP and the Official tyre supplier to the FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship.
Dunlop s extensive racing experience has led to innovative technologies for tyres designed for everyday riding. Dunlop tyres were on the bike that won the first 500cc championship for motorcycles in 1949 and dominated the series through the following decades. In 1991 a bike on Dunlop tyres won the first of three consecutive World Superbike titles and in 2008 Marco Simoncelli took Dunlop s 200 th consecutive 250cc GP win, a series in which Dunlop claimed 17 World Championships. 2010 saw Dunlop become sole tyre supplier to Moto2 with Moto3 following in 2012 and the partnership with Dorna to continue supplying the two main MotoGP support races was renewed for 2015 onwards. Endurance racing has been dominated by Dunlop teams and riders, with eleven Endurance World Championship titles out of thirteen since 2002 accrued, while each of John McGuinness 23 Isle of Man TT wins were on Dunlop tyres. Dunlop has won every major motorcycle accolade going from GP World Championships to the Isle of Man TT, from World Superbike and Supersport to World Endurance, with similar across-the-board success in motocross and other off-road championships. The latest Dunlop road tyres are fitted on motorcycles from leading manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Ducati, Harley-Davidson and Suzuki.