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Jim Allen, Road Race Manager
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Jim Allen is The Man when it comes to Dunlop's road racing program in the U.S. Dunlop's Road Race Manager, Allen has a unique understanding of road racing that comes from his years as a racer. Allen competed sucessfully in both the U.S. and his native Canada for many years, winning two Canadian road race championships, and establishing himself as a top contender in the U.S. before hanging up his leathers. He joined Dunlop in 1979 as a test coordinator, and shortly thereafter headed up Dunlop's growing involvement in American road racing. If you have a question about Dunlop's road racing tires, Allen is the one with the answers, which is why he heads up Dunlop's annual tire test at Daytona. To gain insight into the complexities of tire testing at Daytona, we went straight to the man himself. |
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Let's begin with a general description of what goes on during the Dunlop Daytona tire test in December. |
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We use this time to develop and test racing tires specifically for use during the season opener here at Daytona in March. Daytona is a very unique racing environment—it's the toughest track in the world because of the extremely high speeds and the G-forces and loads that the tires are subjected to. So for the past several years we've been inviting the key race teams to come here in December to test new tires. |
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You mean you don't issue the same tire to racers year after year? How often are new tires developed? |
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No, the Daytona tires change every year. Actually, Dunlop racing tires overall are in a constant state of development. We're constantly working with teams to develop different sizes, profiles, and tire carcass construction because these aspects can drastically affect handling characteristics of the bikes as well as traction, tire life and more. |
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So this is really true experimentation, to develop new tires/technology, using the best riders in the country, or in the world, for that matter? |
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Yes, this is ongoing research and development. Daytona is a very specialized track, and we learn a lot here every year. Some of this information is applicable to tires we build for use at other tracks, but a lot of seems to be specific to only to Daytona.
And the riders we work with are great -- I think they're among the best Superbike riders in the world, especially in light of the changes that are going on this year with the World Superbike series. |
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How many years has Dunlop done this test? |
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It seems like we've had a test at Daytona for as long as I can remember, but I think the answer is something on the order of 12-15 years. I've been coming to Daytona for Dunlop every year since 1979; that's 23 years, and as a racer, for more years before that than I'd care to reveal! |
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