Dunlop’s Moto2 tyres head to the tough and testing circuit of Phillip Island for the AirAsia Australian Grand Prix, the sixteenth and penultimate round of the 2012 Moto2 Championship, held on October 26-28. This will be the third and final race where the new 345 front tyre compound makes an appearance. It will also be the first race for Sandro Cortese as newly-crowned Moto3 World Champion.

Mind the Penguins

Perched on a fantastic island location – famed for penguins as well as a race circuit – with amazing views over the course of its 4.448km clockwise duration, Phillip Island offers a high speed workout for Dunlop’s tyres. Its relentless high-speed nature allied to the notoriously fickle local weather and only one significant braking point on the track, make for a tough ask of the tyre-markers art.

Dunlop will bring the rear tyre allocation from the Group E Specials – with the asymmetric W919 tyre – which incorporates two distinct and different compounds on its tread – and the 3838 compound in ATR14 construction to replicate some of the qualities of a dual tyre from a single tread compound.

W919 incorporates the two core compounds of 3854 soft and 3838 hard, with the 3838 offering high wear resistance with good consistency over distance. The 3854 soft means the right hand side of the tyre is immediately ready to deliver good grip for the few times it is called upon over the course of a lap.

This is the third and final race where the otherwise season regular front 717 compound is rested and the 345 is called into action. Dunlop will continue with evaluation of this tyre in its continued quest for performance improvement looking to the 2013 season.

Source: Dunlop Motorsport