Buffalo, NY: The debut race of the brand-new USA-built Dunlop KR449 rear racing slick tire could not have been scripted more perfectly. BEI Racing Team members Billy Ethridge, Tim Bemisderfer and Brian Stokes rode their Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory on the new KR449 at the opening round of the WERA National Endurance Series held at the 2.0-mile Roebling Road Raceway outside of Savannah, GA.
Manufactured in Buffalo, NY, the new KR449 was created for racers across the USA, using the Dunlop technology incorporated into the tire. Thanks to the large body of knowledge and experience gained through its role as exclusive tire provider to AMA Pro road racing, Dunlop’s US operation has gained invaluable racing expertise and engineering capabilities used to design, develop and produce these tires in its Buffalo facility.
In addition, Dunlop has made a substantial capital investment in new tire-manufacturing equipment—the same proprietary equipment and technology Dunlop uses to produce Moto2 GP race tires—that has been added to the Buffalo production center. The KR449 includes the same advanced N-Tec, MT™ Multi-Tread and Intuitive Response Profile (IRP) that has proven so effective in other Dunlop road racing tires.
During the WERA event, the BEI squad logged a solid four hours of racing, amassing more than 50 grueling laps with high track temperatures on each of the three KR449 tires they employed to win the Heavyweight Superbike Class. The BEI Racing Team also logged the fastest lap of the endurance race on the KR449. They were so impressed with the KR449’s performance in the endurance race, they fitted the same tires for the sprint race—and won that too! Such an effective performance comes as a result of extensive development work performed in the USA—including input from many top-tier AMA pro racers.
Dunlop was able to deliver performance like this—tuned for the US market—by being the only motorcycle tire manufacturer with design, development, testing, racing, and manufacturing here in the United States. The new KR449 will be available in 190/55R17 and 200/55R17 sizes in soft and medium multi-tread compound variations to work well at tracks across the USA. The KR449 will be available in June to all racers from Dunlop’s race-tire outlets, Erion Racing (800-700-3599) and Race Tire Services (800-772-8473). Go to http://dunlopracing.com for more information about Dunlop racing tires.
###About Dunlop
Dunlop is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923.
