2010 Dunlop SportMax GP211 Racer and SportSmart tyre launch – Silverstone
Dunlop invited a handful of journos to test its SportMax supersport tyre range at the new Silverstone circuit. The new Silverstone national circuit is very fast with plenty of hard braking and tough long hard accelerating corner exits. The new circuit layout proved a fine proving ground for Dunlop’s latest tyre technologies.
Words: Tor Sagen/Photography: Impact Images
I chose a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to test the SportSmart tyres and a Kawasaki ZX-6R and Yamaha R6 to test the GP Racer 211 tyres. The NTEC rear tyres are the big news and this technology is featured in both the SportSmart and GP Racer 211 rear tyres. NTEC is for now not available or perhaps not even desirable for front tyres. NTEC is a Dunlop technology that allows you to safely reduce air pressure when riding on a dry track for a dollop more grip. The GP Racer 211 features a triple compound whilst the SportSmart has two. An independent test performed by Dekra puts Dunlop’s SportSmart tyre way ahead of its competition in term of tyre wear.
Out on Silverstone I’m riding the GSX-R1000 as hard as I dare and the SportSmart 190/50-ZR17 rear will slide. The good thing is that I’ve still got plenty of drive and there’s no need to short-shift up a gear. The cold tyre pressures for the day were 30psi front and a low 21psi on the NTEC rears. The NTEC technology allows for a larger contact patch at extreme leans with less heat on lower pressures and still maintains stability. This sort of stuff gives you confidence to get on the throttle earlier and to concentrate a lot more on what you’re doing with that throttle. With more than 180 horsepower on tap that’s important. The SportSmart tyres exceeds the Qualifier II overall with at least the same dry and wet grip but with NTEC that really allows you to use more revs mid-corner. The SportSmart will most likely replace the Qualifier II all together but will be sold side by side until QII stocks run out I suspect.
The way I could ride the GSX-R1000 around Silverstone proves that there’s a lot of performance in the SportSmart tyres. The front tyre is very stable under hard braking and I can point the bike to wherever I want it to exit the corners with ease. To pass a slower rider all I had to do was to tighten or widen my corner exit and power out of the corner faster. When tightening my exit there’s naturally a lot more movement through the chassis as the bike’s been forced to tackle all that power on a tighter line, but the tyres coped really well and dug in. A gentle headshake then followed into third gear and settled in fourth just in time for another hard breaking zone. Exiting on the racing line the rear tyre just acts in a way that plays mockery to my riding and tells me;”Is that all you’ve got?” Only one time did the rear slip more than slide and that happened out of a hard accelerating second gear corner just a moment before I’d kick up to third gear. Even Dunlop’s SportSmart can’t take what’s an unreasonable amount of throttle always. I’m glad that I did find some sort of limit though before hurting myself. I’m hugely impressed by the amount of grip and feedback particularly in the corners from a tyre that’s essentially aimed at road users. Looking at that DEKRA test knowing that the tyres can be thrashed properly on a circuit, too, has convinced me that the SportSmart is THE set of road tyres to beat.
On my first session of the day I picked a GP Racer 211 shod Yamaha R6 to warm me up on. The 600’s were flying on this day and a lot of it was down to those super sticky GP Racer 211 tyres. Mid-corner feel is just out of this world and I had hardly finished my braking before I wanted to torture the rear tyre with the throttle again. In my final session of the day I wanted a bike that would toss all my previous laps of the day in the bin. I really wanted to go for it on those GP Racer 211’s and I picked the Kawasaki ZX-6R which I’ve had superb experience with on track before. It wasn’t a bad choice as I did 1.07’s and 1.08’s consistently and then a 1.06 lap which was a second faster than what I could do on the big Suzuki on SportSmart’s. The GP Racer 211 must be one of the best trackday rear tyres out there. The Kawasaki ZX-6R is already one of the best handling sport bikes out there and the 211’s just amplify this and improves the handling further. I could have continued improving my laptimes until the birds went home and all I wanted to do was to continue riding. The front tyre is incredibly precise into, mid-corner and out of corners. It’s the easiest thing in the world to change direction should it be needed even mid-corner. I could pass riders on the inside and on the outside knowing that I could still get hard on the throttle nearly anywhere and ride past. The sliding out of pretty much any corner was utterly predictable and stability great. The GP Racer 211 gives you a great advantage on the circuit and will continue to do so as the top slick version is being developed in Moto2.
The technology in the GP Racer 211 has been developed in 250GP racing and on the IoM TT’s and Dunlop promises to keep dripping down the good stuff onto road tyres. The GP Racer 211 is more of a track tyre than road tyre, but you can of course also use it on the road. The SportSmart tyres are the economic option and also better in the wet, but as I said you can safely also use the 211’s. Dunlop told us that the front GP Racer 211’s uses nearly the same compounds as a true race tyre. On the day at Silverstone we rode on the endurance front compound and the medium rear tyres. They are also available in soft and hard. Dunlop calculates that a soft GP Racer 211 should last 20-25 racing laps and the medium 35-40 racing laps. The GP Racer 211 tyres are available from a 160, 180, 190 to a 200 rear size.
Conclusion
I’m hugely impressed by the longevity of the SportSmart tyres as proved in the DEKRA test. Particularly as the SportSmart’s is a high performance sportbike tyre capable of doing fast laps on any bike. You’ve got dry and wet grip, stability and longevity all in the same set of tyres. The GP Racer 211 is many steps up from that again though when talking grip and confidence mid-corner. It won’t last as long, but it’s supreme on the circuit. If you’re a serious racer or racetrack fanatic you should try a set of Dunlop GP Racer 211’s this year. If only doing sporadic track days and mostly road miles then the SportSmart is a safe and good choice, perhaps even the best choice.
