When the Mopar CSBK National Championship series opens next month at Shannonville Motorsport Park, both Pro and Amateur competitors will have some new options from Series Spec Tire supplier Dunlop. Dunlop have confirmed the availability of updated equipment for their third season as the official tire supplier of the Canadian National road racing Championships.
A revised, softer front tire option will now be available for both Pro and Amateur class Superbike competitors, based on the successful KR448 construction.
This new 2662 front slick has an interesting history, since it’s origin came from discussions between Pro 6 principals from Toronto and the Dunlop Design staff in Buffalo, New York. First produced as a side project in very limited numbers and then tested with top Canadian road racers in late 2015, positive initial reviews of the 2662 lead to the inclusion of this option for National riders in the United States on the Moto America tour.
“Our 2016 selection of front tire slick options now comprises the new 2662 as well as the established, reliable 7455, widely used in 2015,” explained Dunlop’s Sandy Noce, owner of official Dunlop race tire Distributor Pro 6 of Toronto, ON. “These choices now supersede our previous front option, a harder overall choice that was hardly ever utilized by our racers. With these developments, we aim to provide all of our riders with a better range of Dunlop options to suit every circuit condition.”
“This new, softer front 2662 should offer improved performance on certain tracks and at certain temperatures,” continued former Pro National racer Noce. “In the right conditions, the new option could yield as much as a second per lap improvement.”
Also updated for the National tour are the rain tire options, Dunlop now offering the updated KR189 front and KR404 rear. These will replace the previous generation of rain tires, no longer produced by the factory, and the 2016 offerings considered to be a potentially quicker choice, as well as more predictable in changing conditions.
“We now have a full turbine front rain tire with the KR189,” confirmed Noce. “The rear rain choice is now a 185/65 for our stock 17 inch rims, offering a profile better suited to our middleweight and open class machinery. Both tires have an improved tread pattern and compound, and are more durable on a drying track, with better, more consistent grip.”
For complete Dunlop tire information, competitors should view the Official web site, pro6cycle.com.
As in previous years, racers in all National classes have complete access to Dunlop’s trained staff and leading technology in the pit lane, paddock and at the Dunlop Service Centre at every round of the 2016 Mopar CSBK National Championship Series.
