MotoAmerica Press Office

Just when you thought that MotoAmerica's Superpole session for the Superbike class was already thrilling enough, comes the announcement that Dunlop has produced a development pre-qualifying tire that fits between the race tire and the one-lap, yellow-banded Dunlop qualifying tire. The new tire will be used only during Superpole and will allow riders the option to use the softer tire that will better prepare them for the end of the 15-minute session when the ultra-soft compound qualifiers come out to play.

"Dunlop has stepped up to contribute even more to the show of MotoAmerica and have developed a second tire for Superpole," said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. "Now riders will have two tires and that's going to make Superpole even more exciting. This is going to bring more strategy into the 15-minute session as the riders and teams try to figure out the best way to use the two tires in the battle for pole position. This also shows how fully committed Dunlop is to MotoAmerica and our riders. I'm looking forward to it all playing out for the first time at Circuit of The Americas this week."

The tires will be provided at no cost to riders and teams who qualify for the 12-rider Superpole session that decides pole position for the two combined MotoAmerica Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 races.

The series gets started April 21-23 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, followed in quick succession by round two at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, April 28-30.