DUNLOP TO INVEST IN MOTOGP
26 October 2006 - Dunlop

Dunlop announces investment in Birmingham MotoGP tyre manufacturing programme

Following another highly successful season on the world’s racetracks,
Dunlop has announced a major investment in new technology at its Fort
Dunlop plant in Birmingham aimed at delivering sustained, long term
success in the highest level of motorcycle racing, the MotoGP world
championship.

In 2006, Dunlop tyres, designed and built in Birmingham, helped Ducati
win the manufacturers’ championship in the highly competitive British
Superbike Championship, widely regarded as one of the world’s most
competitive championships where the battle between tyre manufacturers is
as intense as the battles between riders. Dunlop teams were also
victorious in the national German, French and USA Superbike
Championships and lead the Australian and Spanish series.

On the world championship stage, Dunlop continued to dominate 125cc and
250cc MotoGP classes and won the World Endurance Championship with
Suzuki, but the 2006 season was more significant for the increasing
competitiveness of Dunlop race tyres in the premier MotoGP series with
Tech-3 Yamaha rider Carlos Checa leading the challenge for top placings
as a result of the relentless testing and development programme
undertaken by the Dunlop teams.

The new investment covers manufacturing technology at the iconic Fort
Dunlop plant in Birmingham. The new technology includes advanced tyre
building machinery that is designed to produce the bespoke tyres needed
to suit the needs of specific riders, bikes, circuits and even climates.

This machine not only constructs the body of the tyre in a new way, it
brings flexibility to the design and production process by precisely
applying different elements and components to specific areas of the tyre
as it is being built. Track surfaces are mapped using a highly
sophisticated form of satellite navigation from which the findings are
fed into the computer and the machine builds the tyre accordingly.

This investment is not just an example of new technology, but an example
of team effort, according to Jean-Felix Bazelin, General Manager, Dunlop
Motorsport: “ This investment in technology is a result of a concerted
team effort by the Birmingham based Dunlop Motorsport Team in
partnership with our sister facilities around the world. Specialists in
the USA, Japan, Germany and the UK contributed to the development of the
concept and the new race tyre build process, which will give us the
opportunity to succeed in MotoGP”

A MotoGP race motorcycle delivers 250 horsepower at the rear wheel which
is transmitted through a contact patch between the tyre and the track
surface no bigger than two credit cards side by side at speeds up to
200mph. The colossal cornering speeds result in staggering lean angles
in excess of 50 degrees from vertical and this too subjects the edge of
the tyres to unprecedented punishment. The huge variety of different
corners, surfaces and climates in the MotoGP season mean that bespoke
tyres are required for every event.

“We can create tyres with a variety of compound applications across one
tyre tread face, optimised to the exact needs of each racing circuit.
The circuit mapping means that we will design and build tyres with
specific compounds and construction elements to match the number of left
and right handed corners on each lap, resulting in an asymmetrical tyre
that will precisely match the demands of the different cornering speeds,
lean angles and surfaces of each circuit. This new process, using fully
computerised technology gives us absolute accuracy and uniformity. Not
only does this help the teams and riders, it improves efficiency in the
production process by reducing waste in material, energy and time” added
Bazelin.

This investment aims to bring continued success for our riders and teams
in MotoGP and Superbike racing. It is also a success for the Birmingham
plant.

Dunlop has been manufacturing winning tyres in Birmingham since 1902.
The Birmingham plant now produces around 300,000 specialist competition
tyres a year for UK and export markets all over the globe and employs a
300-strong group comprising research, development, manufacturing,
engineering and commercial teams.

Bazelin concluded: “Fort Dunlop can be considered as a motorsport
‘centre of excellence’ in the global organisation. This investment is a
signal that Motorsport is at the heart of the Dunlop brand, and we are
proud that we are able to reveal an investment in one of Birmingham’s
most famous manufacturing plants.”

www.dunloptyres.co.uk

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