Dunlop SportSmart TT – race winning technologies for track and road
Dunlop has revealed more detail on the technologies included in their latest hypersport tyre.
The SportSmart TT is the fourth new Dunlop hypersport tyre to be launched since the beginning of 2017, underlining Dunlop’s ambitious product development strategy. The Dunlop SportSmart TT has been developed to meet the needs of riders who want to use the same tyres on road and track, and who demand the highest level of pure performance which is still suitable for road use.
A new tyre for every hypersport rider
Professional Rider – D213 GP Pro – Launched Summer 2017
Seasoned Track Rider – GP Racer D212 – Launched January 2017
Experienced track rider with road use: SportSmart TT –Launch March 2018
Road Rider with occasional track use – SportSmart2 Max –Launched March 2017
Isle of Man TT and FIM Endurance World Championship winning technology
The TT in the tyre name refers to ‘Track Technology’ and this is backed by an impressive pedigree. Dunlop has applied learnings from the 2017 success of Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop in winning the Isle of Man TT Superbike and Senior races and the experience gained with GMT94 in winning the FIM Endurance World Championship, including both the Bol d’Or and Le Mans 24h races.
In these races, Dunlop developed a new motorsport polymer for grip and durability. The new Dunlop SportSmart TT uses this as part of a MultiTread compound. This is proven to provide consistent performance and a versatile operating range – vital for combined road and track use.
NTEC evolves into NTEC RT
Dunlop has introduced innovative NTEC RT (Road and Track) technology on the SportSmart TT. The new NTEC RT technology allows a tuning of rear inflation pressure to maximise the footprint on trackdays. It allows riders to keep the standard manufacturer pressures for road use, but increase the contact patch by up to 24 percent when riding on track. NTEC provides grip that is close to 100% track-biased tyres.
SV Tread makes its debut
The most visually impactful feature of the SportSmart TT is the distinctive tread pattern featuring a Speed Vent. This ‘SV Tread’ optimises temperature control with an intricately calculated tread groove pattern and footprint. The front tyre is cooled by aerodynamic effect in a straight line. When turning, the SV Tread improves the way the tread grooves open and close, ensuring both optimum grip and improved heat dissipation.
Dynamic Front Formula
The Motorsport-proven construction and section shape gives the kind of precise feedback that race riders crave. Dunlop’s experienced test team focused on achieving the sweet spot of agility and stability, leading the engineers to develop a new formula comprising JLB (JointLess Belt) construction and Rayon Plies. This, coupled with the new compound technologies, gives SportSmart TT users the supreme confidence they need for fast riding.
Xavier Fraipont, Managing Director, Dunlop Motorcycle Europe, is proud of the development team’s efforts: ‘To launch four new hypersport tyres in one year proves the ability and agility of our technical centre. Our race and road tyres are developed by the same team and this synergy has allowed us to apply Endurance and Road Racing winning learnings to our road range very quickly. Dunlop SportSmart TT showcases the very latest technologies, such as the innovative NTEC RT and SV Tread, and completes the youngest and most innovative hypersport tyre range on the market’
