Dunlop Moto2 Preview: Valencia
Dunlop will debut a new rear tyre for the final round of the Moto2 Championship as it returns to Spain for the fourth time this year for the Valencian Grand Prix, held on November 4-6 at the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana.
After the high speed of Sepang, Valencia for the 17th round offers a very different challenge with its technical, tight and twisty tenor. It’s the fifth anti-clockwise circuit of the season – after Sachsenring, Indianapolis, Aragon, and Phillip Island – with 9 left and 5 right turns over the course of its 4.005 km.
It’s at the rear where the interest lies, as a new rear, the ATR09 3838 will be brought as one of the two choices on offer for riders. ATR09 is a new construction used very successfully in Europe (ATR05) allied to the 3838 compound with asymmetric tread gauges to get more heat into the lesser working side. The W919 dual compound as used at Brno, Barcelona and Indianapolis will also be on offer.
Dunlop will bring the front tyre allocation of the 717 hard compound which has been used at all rounds so far this year combined with the 302 medium as used at all rounds since Sachsenring, save for Motegi.
“It’s great that we can keep pushing our tyre development right to the very last round of what has been a thrilling season,” says Dunlop Motorsport’s Moto2 co-ordinator, Clinton Howe.
“We’re excited about the ATR09 3838 as it contains a good synergy of the lessons learnt this season, so we’ll have to see how it suits the conditions which greet us.
“Valencia is an anticlockwise circuit with a dominance of left-handed turns, For the front we have the familiar 717 and 302, whilst joining the ATR09 3838 on reward duties is the dual compound W919, this time in ATR05 configuration which has softer edges for improved feel at full lean.
“It’s a light track surface, fast turns on the left, some quite bumpy turns on the right, turn five is particularly difficult as you’re coming downhill. And the last big turn is mainly what the dual is for, to keep the heat a bit better.
“Last year’s track temperature was 23˚C for the race – quite a cool temperature to be racing in, but fortunately the data from the test – completed in similar conditions – assists us to find a good compromise.”
Dunlop Motorsport’s Senior Tyre Engineer (Motorcycle Race), Chris Valentine gives his take on the next destination on the Moto2 calendar.
“It’s a great place for spectators as the whole circuit is designed in an amphitheatre so you can see almost the whole lap from any grandstand. Watch out for heroics into Turn 1 on the first lap as this downhill left hand turn often catches out over committed riders on cold tyres.”
The final round of the Moto2 world championship at Valencia starts with practice on Friday 4 November, followed by qualifying on Saturday and then the race at 12:15 local time on Sunday 6.
Source: Dunlop Motorsport Media
