Dunlop Moto2 and Moto3 battles set to intensify in Argentina, America and Spain

The 2017 FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships began in Qatar, and now head on their tour of the Americas, with round two at the Autodromo Termas Rio de Hondo, Argentina on 9 April and the Circuit of the Americas, Texas on 23 April. Two weeks later the Dunlop-shod machines embark on their first race appearance of the year in Europe, at Jerez, Spain on 7 May.

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	March Recap – unseasonal rain greets riders in Qatar After record temperatures in 2016, the opening round of 2017 in Qatar saw unseasonably wet weather force the cancellation of qualifying for both championships. The grids were consequently determined by the combined practice times. Dunlop shipped in extra tyres in case the event was wet, but they weren’t needed on race day as normal Qatar weather returned. Franco Morbidelli converted his rapid pace in testing into his first Moto2 victory from pole, finishing over 2.5 seconds ahead of last year’s winner Thomas Lüthi.  The medium option tyre was the preferred choice, with just a 0.5 second drop in performance during the race. Joan Mir took his second Moto3 victory, from sixth on the grid, and finished just 0.135sec ahead of John McPhee, who fought back from 13th and put himself third in the FF table.

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#ForeverForward 2017 Qatar proved a challenging weekend weather-wise, however the opening round saw plenty of overtaking and opportunities for riders to demonstrate their talent and ability to progress through the races. Rewarding riders for their fightbacks from adversity and awarded points for the 2017 Dunlop Forever Forward Award, one point is given for every place gain from start to finish position. Top overtaker in Qatar was Moto3 racer Darryn Binder who progressed 13 places to lead the ranks, with Yonny Hernandez top Moto2 mover with a 10 place improvement. #ForeverForward after round one: 1. Darryn Binder (Moto3) 13 2. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Moto3) 11 3. John McPhee (Moto3) 10 4. Yonny Hernandez (Moto2) 10 5. Kaito Toba (Moto3) 8 6. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Moto3) 7

Round 2: Autodromo Termas Rio de Hondo – 9 April 2017 Autodromo Termas Rio de Hondo Track Facts: • Length: 4.8km • Left Turns: 5 • Right Turns: 9 • Energy level: mid/high • Left:right bias: mid Tyre Allocation Autodromo Termas Rio de Hondo: Moto2 Front: Medium '2' (black on silver) Rear: Medium ‘3’ (fluorescent yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (fluorescent white on black) Moto3 Front: Soft (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver) Rear: Medium 'M1' (black on silver) / Hard ‘H3’ (fluorescent yellow on black) Autodromo Termas Rio de Hondo 2016 Highlights • Track conditions were poor across the weekend due to the circuit being largely unused for four months prior to the race weekend • As a result, lap times across practice and qualifying were 1-2 seconds a lap slower • Both races were declared wet, due to damp patches around the track • Tyre performance and longevity was very good across both Moto2 and Moto3 • Johann Zarco returned to the top step of the Moto2 podium, where he secured his first ever win in 2015  • Khairul Idham Pawi claimed his first Moto3 win in just three races     .       Round 3: COTA - 23 April 2017 • COTA features three turns (1, 11 & 12) where the Moto2 bikes are under hard acceleration, and where tyres may consequently turn on the rims. Dunlop’s experienced engineers monitor this in practice and can make the necessary adjustments to the race tyres if required. COTA Track Facts: • Length: 5.5km • Left Turns: 11 • Right Turns: 9 • Energy level: mid/high • Left:right bias: 55%/45% Tyre Allocation COTA: Moto2 Front: Medium '2' (black on silver) Rear: Medium ‘3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (fluorescent white on black Moto3 Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver) Rear: Medium ‘M1’ (black on silver) / Hard ’H3’ (fluorescent yellow on black) COTA 2016 Highlights • Alex Rins secured his third Moto2 victory • Romano Fenati’s claimed his seventh win in Moto3     .       Round 4: Jerez – 7 May 2017 • Pre-season testing produced lap times half a second faster than the 2016 race across both Moto2 and Moto3 • Jerez is one of the most popular spectator events on the calendar, with more than 250,000 fans attending over the weekend Jerez Track Facts: • Length: 4.4km • Left Turns: 5 • Right Turns: 8 • Energy level: low • Left:right bias: 40%/60% Tyre Allocation Jerez: Moto2 Front: Medium '2' (black on silver) Rear: MS0 Supersoft (blank) / Soft ’1’ (fluorescent green on black) Moto3 Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver) Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M1’ (black on silver) Jerez 2016 Highlights • Dunlop successfully utilised its new Moto2 MS0 tyre • In Moto2 qualifying ten riders were under the 2015 pole time, one second covered the top twenty riders • The Moto2 race was four seconds faster than in 2015 • In Moto3 qualifying the first five riders were under the 2015 pole time • In the Moto3 race Brad Binder achieved the biggest comeback in MotoGP history, coming from the back to take his first ever win and tenth podium • Jerez brought the total of different winners across Moto2 and Moto3 to four apiece     .       2017 Tyre Specifications The 2017 specification tyres remain similar to last season, utilising the No.2 fronts in Moto2, and with several options for the rears, each carefully selected by the experienced Dunlop engineers to cater for the demands of the different tracks and surfaces. Moto3 equally will feature the same tyres that were successfully used last year, all of which offer increased durability for the ultra-competitive lightweight class. Moto2 Moto3 MSO Supersoft (blank) Soft 'S'/S1 (black on yellow) Soft '1' (fluorescent green on black) Medium 'M'/'M1' (black on silver) Medium '2' (black on silver) (fronts only) Hard 'H3' (fluorescent yellow on black) Medium '3' (fluorescent yellow on black) Hard '4' (fluorescent white on black) Special Hard 'S1' (blank) Special Hard 'S2' (grey on black)