Dunlop Moto2 Sachsenring preview
Dunlop heads to Germany and the Sachsenring circuit for the ninth round of the 2011 Moto2 Championship on July 15-17.
The Sachsenring is an anti-clockwise track with an abundance of left-hand turns and a sparse sprinkling of right-handers. This means that the left hand of Dunlop’s tyres are subject to far more forces than the right side.
The circuit is located near the foothills of the Ore Mountains, near to the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. A lap has numerous elevation changes through its ten left hand and three right hand turns over its 3.671 km.
For the first time this season, Dunlop will bring a different front tyre allocation. For all previous rounds, the 753 medium and 717 hard compounds have been brought, but for Sachsenring the medium is replaced with the slightly harder compound 302.
For the rear tyre choice, two dual compound tyres will be brought, in the W943 and W919. Both tyres feature the 854 soft-medium compound on their less used right-hand. The W943 has the 6838 medium-hard on the left-hand working side and the W919 has the 3838 on its working side.
“The Sachsenring is a technically interesting circuit,” explains Dunlop Motorsport’s Moto2 co-ordinator, Clinton Howe.
“The primary consideration is maintaining enough heat in the less used right hand side of the tyre so it can deliver sufficient grip once it’s called on after being cooled down through not being used over the majority of a lap. This means our tyre designers and compound technicians have to consider the tyre’s heat retention properties.
“The Sachsenring is another circuit with a lot of up and down to it, which means a rider demands good stability from the tyre construction especially for any downhill braking. In terms of abrasion the circuit is pretty aggressive so wear rates can be quite high, especially when the temperatures are cool or there has been recent rain.
“It’s tough on the front tyres as well as the rears, so after studying data from a recent round of the German national championships we have gone for a harder allocation for the fronts with the re-introduction of the 302 compound instead of the 753.
“Sachsenring’s location means that the weather can be quite variable, so cool temperatures and rain are never too much of a surprise, nor are hot temperatures, and I know which I’d prefer!”
As well as supplying the Moto2 championship, Dunlop is also the only tyre supplier in the 125cc world championship which runs alongside Moto2. Although the regulations allow open tyre competition, Dunlop has enjoyed virtual domination, such that it currently has 124 consecutive wins in the category.
“Every winner in the 125cc World Championship starting with Casey Stoner’s Valencia win in 2003 has been on Dunlop tyres, so to reach the milestone of 125 consecutive wins at the Sachsenring will be a nice record for us, especially in the final season of the 125s,” says Howe.
The Sachsenring round of the Moto2 and 125cc world championships starts with practice on Friday July 15, followed by final practice and qualifying on Saturday. On Sunday the 125cc race takes place at 11:00 local time, followed by the Moto2 race at 12:15.
