Dunlop will introduce a new 200-section rear Moto2 tyre at this weekend's Jerez MotoGP round.
The hoop is designed to cope better with the higher-horsepower Triumph 675cc motor that has been adopted for 2019.
Dunlop chose to supply the smaller 195-section 2018 specification tyres for the opening races of the year, so teams could focus on adapting to the new engine.
“The 2018 tyre has proven to be more than capable of meeting the performance of the new bikes. By using it in the opening rounds, the Dunlop technical team was able to collect information and establish how the new bikes impact the tyre performance, checking if more heat was being generated giving us valuable data for the larger 2019 rear tyre," said Dunlop's Stephen Bickley.
“The 200/75R17 is a physically larger tyre than the 195/75R17, increasing in diameter by over 10mm. This provides improved traction in both longitudinal and lateral directions.
"The stability of the Moto2 tyres was a highly-regarded attribute, and riders tell us we’ve actually improved on this with the new shape, carefully controlling the stiffness of the tyres at all lean angles.”
In addition to launching the new tyre size, Dunlop has also chosen to go a step harder than in previous years with the Moto2 tyre allocations for this circuit. This is due to Jerez being more aggressive since its resurfacing.
The new tyres and compound range have been evaluated at three separate Jerez tests, Valencia, Aragon as well as at Dunlop’s own test facility in Mireval, France. At some circuits, such as Le Mans, Dunlop expect they can run softer compounds than in 2018.
