MARCH 2012

SPECIAL AMA PRO ROAD RACE ISSUE

32

CONTENTS

Dunlop Download magazine is published for Dunlop by Vreeke & Associates. www.vreeke.com

4 RACING TO THE FUTURE

6 DUNLOP PROFILE: SABASTIAN MINCONE

7 DUNLOP PROFILE: TONY ROMO

8 SHELINA MOREDA: FIRST WOMAN TO RACE A MOTORCYCLE AT INDY

10 DUNLOP SPONSORS BIG KAHUNA TRIPLE CROWN EVENTS

11 A MOVEABLE FEAST

12 WHY THE NATIONAL GUARD LOVES AMA PRO ROAD RACING

16 2011 AMA PRO ROAD RACING WRAP-UP: FIVE CHAMPIONS CROWNED

20 PROFILE OF A CHAMPION: JOSH HAYES

22 AMA HORIZON AWARD WINNER: JAKE LEWIS

24 SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

28 DON SAKAKURA: MANAGING FOR SUCCESS

32 BY THE NUMBERS: THE DUNLOP TIRE SUPPLY STORY

34 OFF THE GRID

36 DUNLOP SPEC TIRES

38 RACE TIRE DEVELOPMENT

42 SUPERBIKE IN WOLF’S CLOTHING: THE YAMAHA YZF-R1

46 HARLEY-DAVIDSON: XR1200 RACING TECH

50 2012 AMA PRO ROAD RACING SEASON PREVIEW

60 TRACKS IN REVIEW

62 MAGIC EYES

FOR DUNLOP VIDEOS PLEASE VISITYOUTUBE.COM/DUNLOPTIRESCHANNEL

ON THE COVER:The iconic corkscrew at Laguna Seca is astretch of plummeting tarmac unlike anythingin the world. Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Special thanks to Brian J. Nelson, whose amazing photography graces virtually every page of this magazine.

54

As we head into our fourth season as the official tire of

AMA Pro Road Racing, I wanted to take this opportunity

to thank everyone in the AMA Pro paddock for the

support and input we have received from you over

the years.

Racing at this level is core to Dunlop’s strategy to

develop and market our products. Our involvement in

AMA Pro Road Racing has helped us progress our

Buffalo race tire development program, and the 2011

introduction of the KR448F and KR449 slicks made in

Buffalo are one example of that program.

But it’s not just about racing and development. We take

our role as industry leaders seriously. We invest in

sponsorships and promotions of racing events and

venues, such as our longstanding relationship with Mid-

Ohio and our new support for the 2012 Big Kahuna

events. We hope our involvement helps the promoters

enhance their events and bring a better show to the fans.

Dunlop values our relationship with AMA Pro Road

Racing, and all the teams in the paddock. We are excited

about this next chapter with AMA Pro Road Racing and

look forward to helping this exciting sport grow in

the future.

Mike Buckley is Vice President, Sales and Marketing,

of Dunlop tires, and a respected industry leader.

He is also a die-hard race fan.

RACING TOTHE FUTURE

BY MIKE BUCKLEY

6 7

Question: Sabastian, what is your role with Dunlop

and your specific responsibilities in terms of AMA

Pro Racing?

Sabastian Mincone: My job is to make sure that all goes

well from the time we leave the office for a race to the time

we go back, as well as all that includes race tire production,

service, development, tech support and various projects

that we have. I am also Dunlop’s direct contact with AMA

Pro Racing.

Q: Did you ever do any racing yourself?

SM: I raced bicycles for a couple of years in my teens,

but ever since I was young I’ve always had a passion for

tires—most of my family in Italy are involved in the tire

industry. Since I was six years old, I’ve wanted to be a race

tire technician.

Q: Dunlop brings a large team to every AMA Pro road

race; what does everyone do, and what does Dunlop

gain from this interaction with racers?

SM: We have tire designers, service engineers, tire fitters,

stock control, a senior fitter and administrative people at

every race. All the tech team takes care to collect data from

various riders and team members. The fitting crew makes

sure that we fit and balance tires for the racers in the most

professional manner and in the shortest amount of time. In

the end, we are there to take care of our customers—the

race teams.

Q: After every race, you and your team conduct a

debriefing session; what goes on at that time?

SM: At the end of every day, we have a meeting to compile

the different data that we have collected during the day,

which helps us prepare for the next day’s events.

We compare our data with previous data, track

temps, tire temps, etc. We analyze the used tires and

start to think of what we need to do next to improve

our products

Q: Besides logging lap times, pyrometer readings

and other objective data, you also gather subjective

input from racers. What kind of info do they pass on

to you, and how does that help in the development

of tires?

SM: What a rider feels on the bike and the feedback they

give is very important for us. The riders can feel sensations

that not even the best telemetry available can record. That

information can tell us which areas may need improvement,

such as the tire compound, construction or profile.

Q: How do you apply lessons you’ve learned at the track

to the products Dunlop makes for the average

street rider?

SM: After every race or test, we have meetings with all our

R&D groups back at our headquarters located in Buffalo.

We review and discuss in detail elements such as

compounds, materials, construction and tire profile. Some

of this information is implemented in new development. The

transfer time of technology from a motorcycle race tire to

an everyday road tire is much quicker than what it is for a

car tire.

SENIOR MANAGER, MOTORCYCLE ROAD RACING

SABASTIANMINCONE

DUNLOP PROFILE: DUNLOP PROFILE:

ROAD RACING TIRE TECHNICIAN

TONYROMO

Question: Tony, what is your role with Dunlop, and

your specific responsibilities in terms of AMA Pro

Road Racing?

Tony Romo: My job title is Road Racing Tire Technician, and

I help riders and teams get great performance from their

Dunlop tires at AMA Pro events as well as club events. I

gather important data concerning tire wear and levels of

performance during actual racing conditions, which I later

share with our group of designers and engineers back at

our factory in Buffalo, NY. I also keep tabs on our Dunlop

contingency program as well as assist in finalizing our list of

sponsored riders and their sponsorship requirements.

Q: From the racing-tire development viewpoint, what

does it mean for Dunlop to invest in a racing program

such as AMA Pro Road Racing?

TR: I can’t think of a better fit for us. AMA Pro offers Dunlop

a great platform to prove and develop our products for the

U.S. and also for export. With AMA Pro you get professional

racers on some of the most demanding racetracks in the

world getting performance from our Dunlop tires. With the

feedback from these top-level riders we can identify areas

where we can improve.

Q: What kinds of things do you learn when you go

racing, insights that you might not otherwise gain from

a nonracing testing regimen?

TR: I think the biggest advantage in testing tires with pro

racers and their AMA Pro–spec machines is that they push

the tires to their limit. Competition is the true X-factor, and

racers will always surprise you with how much they are

willing to risk to win. From their first lap of the day, racers

give us a stream of real-world data using current top-level

racing motorcycles. The teams play a big role by having the

latest in suspension and electronic technology on board

their machines. This technology helps us to develop

faster tires that can then be used at all levels of racing the

world over.

Q: With world-class pro racers pushing tires to the limit,

what kinds of things do you see and learn?

TR: To me, the main thing that stands out is how much more

life the tire returns with riders and teams that have a good

handle on their suspension. All AMA Pro racers are offered the

same tires in their respective classes, yet we’ll see situations

where one rider on a given team has thrashed his tire in a

handful of laps, while his teammate’s tire looks great and is

still turning fast laps after running the entire race distance.

Q: How do you apply lessons you’ve learned at the

track to the products Dunlop makes for the average

street rider?

TR: As one example, the many similarities between

Dunlop’s street-going Sportmax® lineup and the GP-A race-

tire line demonstrate just how much technology is carried

directly over. For sporting street riders who also want to use

their bikes for track days, the Sportmax® Q2® is a great

choice because it delivers good all-around sport

performance along with great wear properties. In fact, it’s

such an effective tire we have had race teams use Sportmax

Q2 tires for endurance racing with great success.

98

Headed into the 2012 season, Shelina Moreda has had a

short but successful professional motorcycle road racing

career, distinguished by a number of firsts. In 2011, the

Petaluma, CA, native became the first female ever to race a

motorcycle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the

100-year history of the track. She was also the first

woman to race in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200

series aboard a Harley-Davidson and the first woman to

race an electric bike at an international level in the FIM

e-Power series.

Moreda started racing in 2009, and in her novice year

placed third overall in the AFM Formula AFemme

Championship. In 2011, Moreda raced as a Top Gun

competitor in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com

SuperSport at Infineon Raceway, finishing in 14th position.

She bested that in 2011, earning a 13th at Miller

Motorsports in AMA Pro SuperSport West.

Moreda grew up around racing; her dad raced flat track,

cars and dirt bikes. She got her first dirt bike at the age of

12, and from that moment on, she wanted to be a

professional racer. In 2012 she will race in the AMA

Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport series with a

new team, Gearzy.com, as well as compete in the FIM

e-Power series again with CRP Racing.

FIRST WOMAN TO RACE A MOTORCYCLE AT INDYSHELINA MOREDA

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For 2012, M1 PowerSports wants even more fans to get

hooked on the thrill of road racing, so the company is

bringing family-friendly extra attractions and

entertainment to three AMA Pro Road

Racing events. And Dunlop has

hopped on board as a proud sponsor

of the Big Kahuna Triple Crown

events this season.

The Big Kahuna Triple Crown

events are scheduled for Road

Atlanta on April 20-22, Homestead-

Miami Speedway on September 21-23,

and the season-closer at NOLA

Motorsports Park in New Orleans, October 5-7. Dunlop will

have a display at these events, and Dunlop-sponsored stunt

rider Jason Britton will perform. Additional activities include

parade laps, large expo areas with merchandise and

displays, an open grid walk during opening

ceremonies where fans can rub

elbows with their favorite riders, free

autograph sessions and more.

Fans can also purchase the Big

Kahuna Triple Crown Pass, which

includes admission to all three

2012 Big Kahuna events, plus VIP

parking, paddock access, official event

programs and a special Big Kahuna

souvenir from each event. The Big

Kahuna Cabana Pass will grant access

to a special hospitality area with closed-

circuit televisions and complimentary beverages. You

can get more information about these events and buy

tickets by visiting M1 PowerSports’ Web site at

m1powersports.com.

BIG KAHUNATRIPLE CROWN EVENTSDUNLOP SPONSORS

When Jay Leno’s private plane landed in Indianapolis in

2009, he was a man with a plan. Scheduled to be grand

marshal of the Red Bull Indy MotoGP event, the iconic host

of “The Tonight Show” put in a quick promotional

appearance for energy drink maker Red Bull and then was

taken to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, he

walked through the infield, toured some of the paddock

garages and then he set out, with his team of “Big Dog

Garage” mechanics in tow, towards lunch. Surprisingly, he

peeled past the MotoGP team hospitality offerings, where

Italian chefs served food that they, in some cases, had

imported just for the event. He strode by all of the GP

sponsor lunch spots where men stare at sandwiches

exactly like they gawk at scantily clad women.

Instead, Leno walked straight to the Monster Energy Graves

Yamaha hospitality area, a large canvas structure known

throughout the paddock for tantalizing and delicious grub.

Leno arrived under the blue tent and was greeted by

longtime Yamaha U.S. Racing Division Manager Keith

McCarty. McCarty took Leno to the grill area, and helped

him pick out a nice cut of meat. Leno shook some more

hands, joked with the crew and then sat down at a table

where his steak was presented to him. He reached for a

saltshaker and dug in.

One of the few full-on team hospitality areas left in the AMA

Pro paddock, the Yamaha offerings are renowned as some

of the best. Of course, there are others—credible all—

including the efforts by Yoshimura Suzuki’s team, and it’s

well-known that Larry Pegram’s mom’s cooking—served

under her son’s racing tent—is not to be missed … if you

can score an invite.

How good is the food at Monster Energy Graves Yamaha

hospitality? Well, Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, is

almost universally recognized as the best track food in the

nation. National magazines, bloggers and media Web sites

have been singing the praises of the food served at the

stands in Elkhart Lake for more than three decades. Several

local churches and other organizations prepare wonderful

burgers, brats and other glee food, which the spectators,

media and series regulars happily gobble up in record

quantities. But you won’t see many Yamaha crewmen or

guests of the team standing in line at the St. John the

Baptist stand at Road America. The food is that good under

their own tent.

Pat Muras and John Buanno, with help from a support

crew—some volunteers, some not—assemble the

hospitality unit and cook the delicious food at Monster

Energy Graves Yamaha hospitality. What types of food do

they offer the riders and teams who have “meal pass”

privileges at Yamaha? It’s not foie gras or anything as

uptight as that. Think of the best neighborhood grill party

you’ve ever been to and the food offered there—then turn

two more clicks into the taste bud expectation level.

Burgers, chicken, steaks, corn and plenty of Monster

Energy drinks.

Speaking of foie gras, well-known Frenchman Napoleon

Bonaparte once said, “An army marches on its stomach.”

That old phrase apparently also rings true on the battlefield

that is AMA Pro Road Racing because Monster Energy

Graves Yamaha has won the past two AMA Pro National

Guard SuperBike Championships in a row. The food must

have something to do with it.

A MOVEABLE FEAST

The National Guard made its way into the AMA Pro Road

Racing paddock in 2009 with the sponsorship of Geoff May

as the rider of the number 54 Superbike for Michael Jordan

Motorsports. The number 54 has significance as it

represents the 54 states and territories where the Army

National Guard serves as the community-based defense

force for the nation. Since 2009, the National Guard has

dramatically expanded its involvement with AMA Pro Road

Racing. We asked them why.

Why did the National Guard choose to get involved in

AMA Pro Road Racing?

The National Guard was attracted to the increased

exposure and communication with the fan base of AMA Pro

Road Racing and Michael Jordan Motorsports. Both the

series and Michael Jordan represent the winning

tradition inherent in today’s National Guard. AMA Pro is a

growing sport and attracts a demographic reflective of the

modern soldier.

What kinds of hopes and expectations were initially set

for the National Guard team?

The National Guard, like Michael Jordan Motorsports, is

looking for a championship season that reflects the

commitment and skill that each name brings to the

American public. The same principles of personal drive and

the employment of technology used by a race team apply to

the successful military operations performed by soldiers

and units of the National Guard.

In what ways have these hopes and expectations

been met?

The National Guard and Michael Jordan Motorsports have

been consistently competitive in the AMA Pro Road Racing

series. We have never been in a better position for success

than this 2012 season.

What has the fan reception been like for the National

Guard team?

Exceptional! The general public has a very positive view of

the military in general and especially their National Guard.

People recognize the contributions their “home town

heroes” have made toward national security. The affiliation

with Michael Jordan Motorsports has been a “win-win”

proposition and a key demographic is following the

development of number 54 rider Roger Lee Hayden.

What is the level of involvement for National Guard

personnel, non-racing team members, that is, during a

typical race weekend?

National Guard units that are represented in the states

where AMA Pro races are held use these venues to promote

recruiting and retention activities. They also increase

awareness of the National Guard as the only military

component with dual roles—supporting both the state and

federal missions. Community involvement is central to the

National Guard culture and the AMA Pro fan base offers an

opportunity for the Guard to interact with a growing sector

of the public.

WHY THE

NATIONALGUARDLOVES AMA PRO ROAD RACING

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1514

The National Guard has expanded its commitment to AMA

Pro Road Racing; tell us about that involvement and what

motivated the increased commitment.

One key component of the National Guard’s commitment to the

Michael Jordan Motorsports team has been the introduction of

an Experienced Rider Course (ERC) through Jason Pridmore’s

STAR Motorcycle School for National Guard riders. Participation

in the course meets the three-year requirement for rider

sustainment training required by Army regulation. The National

Guard recognizes that a large number of Guard members are

attracted to the freedom and excitement of riding motorcycles.

Reducing the probability of accidents through rider safety classes

directly reflects on military readiness and quality of life for Army

National Guard soldiers.

Overall, how satisfied has everyone been with your AMA Pro

Road Racing involvement?

National Guard leaders have been pleased with the feedback

generated by involvement with Michael Jordan Motorsports and

AMA Pro Road Racing. Soldiers at home and abroad can rally

around their team and that’s an unexpected value that was and is

a very welcome part of the relationship.

What things are you looking forward to achieving with the

team in the future?

The team is poised for a highly successful 2012 season. We are

looking forward to the expanded exposure the National Guard will

incur throughout the season with the success of the riders. AMA

Pro Road Racing attracts a key demographic of responsible riders

and race fans that reflects the values of today’s National Guard.

Both organizations will continue to display a winning spirit and

reflect the highest values of sportsmanship and citizenship both

names represent in our country.

16 17

2011 AMA PRO ROAD RACING WRAP-UP:

FIVE CHAMPIONS CROWNED

JOSHHAYES

1918

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Hayes successfully

defended his 2010 National Guard SuperBike crown,

holding off Rockstar Makita Suzuki challenger Blake Young

for the championship. Finishing on all but two podiums

throughout the season, Hayes had a five-point lead over

Young heading into the final round at New Jersey

Motorsports Park held September 2-4. Drawing from his

previous years’ experience in the class, Hayes extended

his points lead after winning the opening race of the

weekend. In the second, a terrific battle ensued between

Young, Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki), Steve Rapp (Cycle

World Attack Performance Kawasaki), Tommy Hayden

(Rockstar Makita Suzuki) and Hayes from the get-go. After

23 laps, Young got to the checkers first—winning his

seventh race of the season, while Hayes crossed the finish

line in second only 0.05 second behind Young with Hayden

crossing in third. Hayes’ runner-up result earned him his

second-consecutive SuperBike crown, while Young

finished second in the championship and Hayden rounded

out third.

GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki’s Eslick strung together

a host of great finishes throughout the year en route to

the 2011 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike title—

adding this year’s crown to the class title he earned in

2009. Finishing on eight podiums during the season,

including wins at Barber, Mid Ohio and Laguna Seca,

Eslick garnered enough points to secure the

championship after finishing sixth in the opening race at

the final New Jersey round. Monster Energy Graves

Yamaha’s Josh Herrin ended his season on a high

note by winning the final race of the year and finished

the series runner-up in points, while Tommy Aquino

(Y.E.S./Pat Clark Sports/Graves Yamaha) rounded

out third.

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport young

gun Rispoli (ANT-Racing.com/STAR School) was the man

to beat in the SuperSport championship and East Division

after finishing on all but one podium heading into the final

round. Winning race two at Infineon earlier in the year, and

finishing runner-up in every race subsequent to Infineon,

Rispoli capped off his stellar season with a win at New

Jersey to secure both titles. LTD Racing Yamaha’s David

Gaviria had wrapped up the West Division title earlier in

the season.

Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing GEICO

Revolution Performance) finished the AMA Pro Vance &

Hines XR1200 series in style by winning his fifth race of

the season en route to the championship. Parts

Unlimited’s Steve Rapp was Fillmore’s closest rival

throughout the season, and he took second overall in the

championship, while Tyler O’Hara finished third.

The 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing series showcased incredible racing all season long, and in the end,

five national champions were crowned. Josh Hayes clinched his second-consecutive AMA Pro

National Guard SuperBike Championship; Danny Eslick was crowned the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona

SportBike Champion, while James Rispoli and David Gaviria won the AMA Pro Motorcycle-

Superstore.com SuperSport East and West Championships, respectively, and Chris Fillmore took the

AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Championship. Dunlop, the official tire of AMA Pro Road Racing,

was along for the ride in each of these championships.

DANNYESLICK DAVIDGAVIRIA JAMESRISPOLI CHRISFILLMORE

2120

The son of a Gulfport fireman, Josh Hayes grew up in a

small home in Mississippi with a dream of one day flying

jets for the U.S. military. In the end, a wayward path and a

great deal of patience has him riding a two-wheeled

SuperBike jet for Yamaha U.S. today.

There was a time when Josh Hayes, try as he might, could

not get a SuperBike ride in America, and his plan B was to

try to obtain one in Europe. He’d been racing in the U.S.

from the mid-1990s on, and was well-known as a very fast

and stable young man who was entrenched in a

journeyman-like program to learn the game of road racing.

He raced all over the U.S. in his amateur and semipro

career, winning WERA titles before being drafted into the

U.S. Suzuki support system and then being hired by

American Honda.

In 2000 his perseverance was tested in a big crash at

Daytona in the then 600 SuperSport race. The violent,

multibike incident was bad enough that SuperSport rookie

Nicky Hayden, who was involved in the incident, returned to

the pits literally crying from the stress of seeing it all play

out at 120 mph.

Hayden made the restart, Hayes did not. The damage to his

arm from the crash at Daytona came at a very pivotal time

in his career, and it could have easily ended it. Luckily, it is

now just an obscure incident, a footnote in the career of

Josh Hayes.

Yamaha U.S. saw Hayes as a talent with whom they’d like

to associate themselves. While Hayes was racing for a

SuperSport World team in Europe, he learned that his

manager had been able to come to terms with Yamaha for

an AMA Pro SuperBike ride. Hayes finished the weekend,

drove to Lisbon, flew home and has been a Yamaha rider

ever since. His AMA Pro SuperBike career with Yamaha has

been nothing short of remarkable. Hayes beat Mat Mladin

before the all-time winningest AMA SuperBike champion

retired, and Hayes has since won two AMA Pro National

Guard SuperBike titles on Yamaha YZF-R1 machines.

Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP needed a fill-in rider for the final

race of the 2011 MotoGP season, and Hayes drew the short

straw for the ride. He did not disappoint, spending the

weekend learning the machine’s strong and weak points.

By Sunday morning practice, he was fastest in the wet

session and finished sixth in his first MotoGP race, an

amazing performance.

A great many motorcycle enthusiasts received their first

motorcycle on Christmas. Someone once asked Josh

Hayes if as a child he had come downstairs Christmas

morning and seen his first motorcycle under the tree,

waiting for him. His answer is insightful: Hayes said that the

house he grew up in didn’t have a second floor so, no, he

didn’t walk downstairs. “Only rich folks’ houses had an

upstairs,” he said. That simple sentence may tell you more

about Josh Hayes than 10 column inches.

Hayes’ SuperBike career has been remarkable, but he has

never sought to capitalize on it or let it inflate his ego. He’s

pleased and grateful for the successes he and Yamaha have

accomplished together. And despite his boyhood dream of

flying jets with his head literally in the clouds, he’s remained

a very grounded individual. And that’s a big reason why

Josh Hayes is very much a fan favorite.

PROFILE OF A CHAMPION:

JOSH HAYES

Established in 1997, the AMA Horizon Awards are

presented annually by American Motorcyclist Association

to the most outstanding riders in the AMA Roadrace Grand

Championship, the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship

and the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.

The awards were created to recognize young riders poised

to enter the professional ranks and who demonstrate great

promise for a successful pro career.

Jake Lewis, a 16-year-old roadracer from Princeton, KY,

was the winner of the 2011 AMA Roadrace Horizon Award

at the Grand Championships held this past October at

central Indiana’s Putnam Park.

“My goal all year was to win the AMA Roadrace Horizon

Award,” said Lewis, who also won the AMA Racing No. 1

plate in the Open SuperSport Expert class aboard a

Yamaha YZF-R6. “I couldn’t have done it without Earl’s help.

He’s sponsored me all these years.”

“Earl” is Earl Hayden. Yes, that Earl Hayden, father of

Tommy, Nicky and Roger Lee Hayden. Incidentally, Nicky

won the very first AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award in 1997,

and Roger Lee also won the AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award

the very next year.

Jake is a third-generation dirt tracker, and Earl actually

competed against Jake’s grandfather for more than 20

years on the pea-gravel ovals and blue grooves throughout

Kentucky and the Midwest.

Earl has been mentoring Jake for years, and his young

protégé has already won numerous championships and

honors in both dirt track and roadracing. Last season, right

after winning the AMA Roadrace Horizon Award at Putnam

Park, Jake won multiple races and championships at the

year-ending WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta.

He added the 600 SuperBike National Championship, as

well as three regional Sportsman Championships to his list

of achievements in 2011. He had already clinched both the

WERA 750 SuperBike and 750 Superstock championships

earlier in the season.

One of the things that Earl is most proud to point out about

Jake, other than his abundant talent on a motorcycle, is his

performance in the classroom. According to Earl, “Jake’s a

straight-A student. He has to be, or else his parents won’t

let him race. So you can bet he keeps his grades up.”

As an AMA Roadrace Horizon Award winner, Jake is in very

good company. He joins former Horizon Award winners Nicky

and Roger Lee Hayden, Blake Young, Hayden Gillim, Jason

DiSalvo and three-time AMA Pro SuperBike champion, 2009

World SuperBike champion and MotoGP winner Ben Spies.

Jake will make his professional roadracing debut on the

high banks of Daytona in March 2012, where he’ll compete

in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport

series aboard the number 85 Suzuki GSX-R600 sponsored

by Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki.

Mark Junge, team owner of Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki,

said, “Having Jake join the Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki

team is great. I’ve been keeping an eye on him for several

years and, last year, I was able to get a first-hand look at

him on track while riding against him in the WERA Nationals.

We’re really looking forward to this season.“

No doubt, Earl Hayden—with his trademark clipboard and

phalanx of stopwatches always at the ready—will also be

continuing to keep an eye on Jake. You’ll want to keep an

eye on Jake, as well.

AMA ROADRACE HORIZON AWARD WINNER:

JAKE LEWIS

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2524

SAVING THEBEST FOR LASTMIGUEL DUHAMEL REVEALS HIS TIRE MANAGEMENT SECRETS

2726

Question: Miguel, during your racing career you were

known as an extremely smart and aggressive rider;

when it comes to tires, how do you balance out those

two traits?

Miguel Duhamel: The process of racing a motorcycle is

always a very delicate balance, but you always have to keep

in mind that tires are a perishable commodity. You have to

stay mindful of what you’re doing so that you have enough

left in your tires to make a go of it at the end of the race.

Nowadays, in the era of traction control to reduce wheel

spin, it doesn’t take as much thought or finesse, but that

idea of the balancing act still applies.

Q: In general, what kinds of strategies did you have in

mind at the start of the race regarding your tires?

MD: I always wanted to make sure I had enough left in my

tires to make a strong finish, so I always worked at taking care

of my tires. I remember one race at Loudon where the weather

and track were real hot, I decided to go with the hardest tire,

knowing it would last until the end of the race. At the start

of the race, I knew I had to let the leaders get away, but after

the halfway point, I could begin to reel them in and pass

them. It’s hard to let guys leave you behind, and you

also have to believe and trust in your tires while being smart

and patient.

Q: The best-laid plans for choosing or saving your tires

don’t always work out; what happens then?

MD: Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and bring it

home the best you can. I remember another race at Laguna

Seca in the pre-traction-control days; the weather was

coming in with fog and a light drizzle but we decided it

would quit soon, and so we chose slick tires. Well, it didn’t

blow over, so there I was on full slicks on a wet track,

passing guys on rain tires—that was insane!

Q: What kinds of techniques do you employ to save your

tires during a race?

MD: You can never get a perfect setup; everything’s always

a compromise. Sometimes to reduce the amount of heat in

the tires you go to a point-and-shoot technique, where you

stand the bike up before getting on the throttle fully, to try

to not create too much heat while the bike is leaned over.

Q: At what point in the race do you decide to just go

for it?

MD: That depends on the length of the track, but the rule of

thumb is to go for it in the last five laps.

Q: Since you raced both SuperBike and SuperSport

classes, often in the same weekend, how did tires differ

between the two bikes?

MD: Actually, I preferred the feel of the Dunlop DOT tires on

the 600cc bike. It gave better feedback, didn’t flex the entire

chassis as much and it would feel better—the bike would

talk to you and give you tons of notice before it did anything

and it would react in a very deliberate way.

The SuperBike had more power and more weight, and it

would be much easier to overheat the tires. The SuperBike

chassis and the slick tires were stiffer and would give less

feedback; you had to push it much harder and faster before

it would give you feedback like a 600.

Q: You enjoyed a long and prosperous career; talk about

the more recent race tires compared to tires you had

when you first started racing.

MD: I raced at the highest levels in the U.S. for more than

20 years and I enjoyed a lot of success as a racer, but I also

gained a lot of satisfaction by being part of the process to

develop new and better Dunlop tires. I like to think that I

was a forward thinker and I voiced requests for things like

a multicompound tire for use at Daytona. When Dunlop first

brought multicompound tires to Daytona that was a huge

step forward, and now that construction is the standard for

not just racers but it’s also available in street tires. So in

working with Dunlop we improved the comfort level for

racers and street riders, and we also beat all the other tire

companies in those days of open-tire competition. And

that’s pretty cool.

To garner some insights into tire management at the racetrack, we posed a few questions to Miguel Duhamel, one

of the winningest riders in AMA Pro history, a racer who often competed on 600cc and 1000cc bikes during the

same weekend. Miguel won all his titles on Dunlop tires, both slicks and DOT-type. Now retired, Duhamel—a hard-

core cyclist—splits his spare time between the golf course and the motocross track, waxing the locals.

DONSAKAKURAMANAGING FOR SUCCESS

2928

Q: When did you first step into the AMA paddock, and

what responsibilities did you have at that time?

Don Sakakura: I was hired at Yoshimura R&D in January of

1980 as a general mechanic. This was the very first

opportunity I had to experience race-machine preparation.

During this period, I had the good fortune to work alongside

Pop Yoshimura, Fujio Yoshimura and Suehiro Watanabe

[Nabe]. The requirement to learn multiple skills, such as

engine building, metal fabrication and suspension tuning,

was necessary. In time, I developed a keen interest in

engine development, cylinder-head profiling, fuel-

management systems, performance simulators, etc.

Q: You’ve had an incredible amount of racing success

over the years, but it wasn’t always like that; tell us

about the tough going in those early years.

DS: The tough years ... definitely. We had a long period

where positive results were hard to come by. Very frustrating

times. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause of the long, dry

spell. But as a team, we performed quite poorly!

Q: What are some of the tough lessons you learned the

hard way in those early years that carry on with you to

this day?

DS: A few very basic lessons we all learned as we matured

as a team: Preparation is crucial. Inevitably, problems will

occur on many levels. The ability to overcome these

problems swiftly and efficiently improves with solid

preparation. The other one is “Keep it simple.” Don’t

overcomplicate matters.

Q: Over the years Suzuki relinquished more and more

responsibility for its racing to Yosh. What is Suzuki’s

current involvement? How much technical indepen-

dence do you have?

DS: Currently, Yoshimura Racing is fully responsible for the

operation of American Suzuki’s SuperBike and Motocross

“factory-supported” programs. AMA Pro SuperBike

equipment development is 100 percent our responsibility.

Over the course of many years, we’ve had the privilege to

work closely with Suzuki Motor Corporation [Japan] and

Don Sakakura is the most successful team manager in the AMA Pro paddock. A direct understudy of the fabled

“Pops” Yoshimura and his son Fujio, Sakakura has deftly carried on the Yosh tradition of winning AMA Pro

championships. We had a chance to sit down with Don and talk about his remarkable career.

3130

American Suzuki Motor Corporation’s race and production

engineering groups. Their insight and knowledge of

American racetracks and racers have been instrumental in

our team’s successes.

Naturally, with our current SuperBike technical regulations,

many production [OEM] components are utilized. So

support levels have substantially been reduced the last

couple of years. Our internal team of technicians has done

very well maintaining competitive AMA Pro SuperBikes.

Q: Tell us about the jumps you made to crew chief

and then team manager; what felt like the biggest step,

and why?

DS: As crew chief your primary responsibilities are to

produce the best possible results for your assigned rider.

Typically, this involves coordination with a small group of

team members and suspension and tire technicians.

The team manager responsibility involves internally

positioning staff who complement each other’s technical

strengths, personalities and working habits. It has been very

rewarding over the past several years; I truly believe team

chemistry is tremendously valuable. Each and every team

member has specific responsibilities: team coordination,

chassis technicians, engine development, engine and data

acquisition staff, truck driver, etc.

Recently, I have passed this responsibility along to Peter

Doyle, who is very qualified based on his history of building

championship programs.

Q: At some point did you feel like you ”turned the

corner” in your racing career?

DS: I honestly can’t say I’ve had a personal turning point in

my career. The learning-education process is never-ending.

Q: You’ve had an enormous amount of success; what

are some of your favorite highlights from all the winning

you and the team have accomplished?

DS: My career highlights have to be the string of

consecutive wins our team was able to accomplish! The

Mat Mladin and Ben Spies challenge over several years was

memorable. The satisfaction of multiple victories and

championships was extremely rewarding, and very often

challenging as team manager. As you may expect from [two]

champion racers, the spirit of competition between riders

occasionally created complex situations. Both Mat and

Ben’s competitive nature elevated our program to

new heights.

Q: Not all of the satisfaction you gain comes from the

trophies; tell us about other aspects of your job and the

sport that you feel make it all worthwhile.

DS: I believe our performance development may eventually

influence production motorcycles sold to consumers. This

brings enormous satisfaction and justification to our racing

efforts. Equally important to Yoshimura, we utilize our racing

projects to develop and improve our commercially available

products that are sold worldwide.

Q: You worked with Mladin for many years. What was it

about Mat that made him so dominating?

DS: Mat’s an incredibly driven individual! In my opinion, his

understanding of how to maximize the total machine’s

performance was unrivaled. He always had the ability to

extract 100 percent-plus performance from his machine and

his technical team. Mat’s “machine-like” ability to

consistently lap racetracks certainly influenced the Suzuki

GSXR’s development curve. I always appreciated and

accepted his frankness and honesty. He was a

great champion.

Q: Do you see any up-and-coming riders with that level

of determination and talent?

DS: I’m sure there are several. Regretfully, due to our current

economic climate, seats are very limited. But I’m certain we

will take notice of young talent in the near future.

Q: After all these years, do you still feel the butterflies

flutter around inside when the season opens

at Daytona?

DS: Absolutely. I still very much enjoy the challenge to

maintain our competitiveness.

MAT’S AN INCREDIBLY DRIVEN INDIVIDUAL! IN MY OPINION,HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE TOTALMACHINE’S PERFORMANCE WAS UNRIVALED.

3332

As the old proverb goes, the longest journey begins with a single step. But if you’re providing tires to the entire AMA

Pro Road Racing paddock all season long, you’d better be packing along plenty of stuff because that’s one long journey.

And just what kind of stuff and howmuch of it? That’s a good question, so we posed it to the Dunlop road race tire crew.

In response, they gave us some pretty interesting little factoids and also a glimpse into the harried lives they lead.

• The Dunlop RR crew performs from 1300 to 1500 tire

changes over a given weekend, depending on weather

conditions.

• Over the course of the entire season they perform a total

of approximately 18,000 tire changes.

• The racers use approximately 10,000 tires throughout

the season for both races and testing.

• At the Buffalo, NY, production facility, Dunlop builds slicks

and D211™ GP-A tires every day. There are a number of

machines dedicated to the production of race tires.

• For one AMA Pro season, Dunlop builds tires with over10,000 miles of fabric (kevlar, nylon, etc).

• In total, 16 people—eight on the fitting crew, four tire

techs, two tire designers and two administrative

personnel—comprise the Dunlop track crew.

• Dunlop has three trucks dedicated to the road race

program, and they traveled from 35,000 to 50,000 miles

each during the 2011 season.

• The Dunlop crew spends about 40,000 to 50,000 miles

per person per year on airline flights. Multiply that figure

by 16 people, and that’s a total of between 640,000 to

800,000 miles. And just think—that latter number

represents 32 trips around the world!

• Each crew member spends up to 110 nights away from

home; 150 nights if you are one of the truck drivers.

• To spend all day in the paddock, the day starts with a big

breakfast in the morning; there’s not much time to eat

during the day. Chips, peanut butter and jelly and a lot of

coffee are always available. The crew typically drinks

about 100 liters of fluids each race weekend, between

water, Gatorade, Coke and Sprite.

• Most important fact: The Dunlop road race crew loveswhat they do.

BY THE NUMBERS:

THE DUNLOP TIRESUPPLY STORY

3534

Dunlop has recently stepped up its efforts to support club

racing with the new KR448F™ and KR449™ racing slicks.

While they were still being tested last year, the BEI Racing

Team used the racing slicks and managed to win the 2011

WERA National Endurance Series. We talked to Dunlop’s

Tony Romo about the company’s support of amateur road

racing in the U.S.

Question: Was it a surprise to win the WERA title with

tires still in development?

Tony Romo: It was a big surprise for a lot of reasons, and it’s

also a great story. In December of 2010 while the

development-spec version of the first KR449 tire was being

tested with our own test team at the Jennings GP track in

Florida, we also asked pro riders Larry Pegram, Roger

Hayden and Ben Bostrom to try them. All three riders tested

the soft compound and gave it good reviews, with all of

them turning low 1:14 lap times; the track record at the time

was a 1:13.7, so those results were impressive.

We knew the new U.S. tires had speed, but we still needed

to determine whether or not they had the durability needed

for endurance racing. The only way to answer that question

was to use them in an endurance race. Fortunately, round

one of the WERA National series was soon approaching. I

flew to that event hand-carrying four U.S. KR449 medium-

compound tires, and BEI Racing was fielding one of our

Dunlop-sponsored riders, Tim Bemisderfer, who was willing

to give the tires a tryout. He enlisted the help of another

Dunlop-sponsored rider, Brian Stokes, and off they went for

four hours using the tires for the entire race without ever

practicing on them. They took the lead on lap one and won

the race.

From that beginning, BEI went on to win the 2011 WERA

National Championship using a mixture of U.S.-

development tires and UK tires. At the final event, in Atlanta,

GA, they used a production medium-compound KR448

front and a medium-compound KR449 rear tire to win the

race and the overall championship.

Q: What are the advantages the KR448F and KR449 hold

for club racers?

TR: These tires give top-level winning performance at an

affordable price. Also, both the KR448F and KR449 can be

used to win Dunlop contingency prizes to help racers

stretch their budgets. And they’re made in America.

Q: What are the differences between the KR448F-KR449

and the AMA Pro SuperBike slicks? When and why

should a racer select one over the other?

TR: The racing slicks used in AMA Pro Road Racing are

made in England and are considered by many to be the gold

standard in racing tires, but all this performance comes at

a price. The KR448F and KR449 are made in our plant in

Buffalo, NY, using the same technologies employed by

Dunlop UK to make tires for Moto2, thus resulting in a lower

cost to the rider. We have found that many riders can race

either the U.S. or UK tires with virtually identical lap times,

leaving the final determining factor to be the price

advantage of the KR448F and KR449.

Q: Tell us about the level of Dunlop technical support

that will be available at select club racing events in 2012.

TR: Club racers are not just customers; they are part of the

Dunlop family. In addition to the great support provided by

Race Tire Service for Dunlop riders at all club races, our

Buffalo development crew will attend select club race

events with our 18-wheeler on both the east and west

coasts. At those events, Dunlop staff will be available to

answer questions and gather data to service the needs of

our riders.

DUNLOP TALKS ABOUT CLUB SUPPORT—WHERETOMORROW’S AMA PRO CHAMPS ARE BEING GROOMED

OFF THE GRID

36 37

DUNLOPSPEC TIRESWHAT AMA PRO ROAD RACERS WILL ROLL ON IN 2012Okay, let’s exercise your imagination: try to visualize what

10,000 motorcycle road racing tires look like, all in one pile.

That’s a thought that truly boggles the mind. But that’s

exactly what the Dunlop race crew is looking at for the 2012

AMA Pro Road Racing season; by the time all the racing

and testing comes to an end, they will have cycled through

about 10,000 tires in all.

And that 10,000 figure encompasses quite a variety: 11

different specs for AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike,

eight for the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and AMA

Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport classes, plus

five more for the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 series—

a host of variations to suit all the tracks visited during the

2012 AMA Pro Racing Calendar, from the season opener at

Daytona International Speedway to the final event at NOLA

Motorsports Park in New Orleans.

The race tires for 2012 also represent a jump forward

compared to tires used during the 2011 season. For example,

all classes racing at the ultra-high-speed Daytona

International Raceway will use next-generation versions of

Dunlop’s very specialized Daytona-only tires, featuring new

compounds and construction to help cope with the new

surface and high-load demands at this track. For the rest of

the season Dunlop will introduce a new front compound for

the American SuperBike class, and Daytona SportBike

Supersport racers will use the recently introduced, new-profile

190/60ZR17 D211™ GP-A. The XR1200 class will also be

able to run tires with the new 5436 front and rear compound.

Even casual race observers will note that Superbikes run slick

tires while the other classes use treaded, DOT-approved

racing tires, but many fans do not fully realize that in today’s

racing there is no longer a big difference between the slicks

and the DOT-approved tires. In fact, the D211 GP-A serves

very well as an intermediate tire for Superbikes in

damp/mixed track conditions and the differences in lap

times are very small.

Also, in 2012 the Daytona SportBike and SuperSport

classes will be running the same tires, while the XR1200

class will use one of the same front tires available for

Daytona SportBike and SuperSport (the 5436 compound)

and on the rear they will run the 190/55ZR17 D211 GP-A.

The only notable difference here is that the heavier Harleys

typically run tire pressures that are 4 to 5 psi higher than the

average pressures used in the other two classes, which

predominantly feature 600cc sport machines. And perhaps

best of all, these very same race tires are available to all

consumers through the Dunlop race tire distributors, for use

in club racing or track-day use.

38 39

For the past three years, Dunlop has served as the official

tire of AMA Pro Road Racing, a relationship recently

renewed for three more years. This responsibility demands

that development work continues at a rapid pace and

encompasses efforts worldwide. So here’s a peek behind

the scenes as the Dunlop crew and top riders develop the

next generation of race tires, through the eyes of Sabastian

Mincone, Dunlop Senior Manager, Motorcycle Road Racing.

Question: How many test sessions did Dunlop conduct

in AMA Pro racing in 2011?

Sabastian Mincone: In 2011 we performed eight tests in the

U.S.A., and we also tested at many racetracks in Australia;

both the Australian Superbike Championship and the

Formula Extreme series run U.S.-made race tires.

Q: Where did you conduct testing in the U.S. in 2011,

and why did you choose these tracks?

SM: We tested at various race tracks around the country,

including Miller, Las Vegas, Chuckwalla, Indianapolis,

Homestead, Jennings, Willow Springs and three test

sessions at Daytona. All of these tracks have different

characteristics that affect tire grip, wear and running

temperatures; it’s important to test in many different

environments. We tested three times at Daytona

because having been repaved with new asphalt, Daytona is

now a different track than what it was in 2010—much

faster, heavier on braking and there are much higher G

forces generated on the banking. That being said, the

asphalt is still only a few months old and still changing, and,

therefore, it is very important for us to collect a lot of data.

For sure, the track conditions will be different after the

Daytona 500 race.

IN AMA PRO ROAD RACING

RACE TIREDEVELOPMENT

40 41

Q: What kinds of advances in race-tire development were you

looking for in 2011?

SM: In 2011 we developed a new front compound for the D211™ GP-A

and a new rear profile that we released for sale a month ago—the

190/60ZR17 D211 GP-A, which will be used in the AMA Pro GoPro

Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com

SuperSport classes. Every day when we come to work or we go testing

or racing, we always look for ways to improve our tires. Like I’ve said in

the past, our development program is the same as what we had when

the series was an open-tire competition. It is very important for us to

develop new products and technologies, because this is the same

technology that we transfer to our road products that get used by

everyday motorcyclists.

Q: What kinds of improvements were gained in lap times?

SM: We saw improvements of 0.5 second to more than 1.0 second per

lap, depending on the track and the weather conditions.

Q: What kinds of subjective comments did the riders give you?

SM: Their comments focused on side grip, drive grip, change of direction

and more. We pay attention to every detail the riders report to us; any and

all information they can give us is useful because this is the kind of

information you can’t get in a test lab.

Q: What new tires have been developed using this process?

SM: All our D211GP-A and KR448F™-KR449™ share the same

philosophy, technology and processes.

Q: Were specific riders used to test, and if so why were they chosen?

SM: No specific riders were chosen; we have tested with many AMA Pro

racers as well as club racers in several different classes. Their feedback

was very important for us; we are glad to work with such talented, world-

class motorcycle racers.

4342

The Yamaha YZF-R1 SuperBikes that two-time defending champion Josh Hayes and

his teammate Josh Herrin compete on in AMA Pro Road Racing are based on those

that can be found right on the showroom floor at your local Yamaha dealership. With

back-to-back SuperBike Championships to its credit, the Yamaha YZF-R1 is a proven

winner. Let’s take a closer look at how the bike has evolved over the past 14 years.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE R1

The YZF-R1 originally debuted in 1998, and it featured a compact, innovative five-

valve Genesis® engine with stacked crankshaft and gearbox input and output shafts.

The dramatically shorter engine design enabled a shorter wheelbase for quicker

handling and optimized center of gravity. The bike was an immediate game-changer.

In 2002, the R1 received a newly developed Deltabox® III frame with Controlled-Fill

diecast construction that reduced the number of frame welds and improved frame

rigidity by 30 percent.

In 2004, the bike was redesigned with a new underseat twin exhaust system and a

new engine design with a separate top crankcase and cylinder block. For 2007 the

R1 saw the dawn of a whole new era, as the five-valve Genesis engine was replaced

by a completely different design with four valves per cylinder. Other new features

included a Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake (YCC-I®) electronic variable-length intake

system and a Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-TTM) fly-by-wire throttle system.

In a prime example of trickle-down technology, the 2009 R1 adapted engine

characteristics from the YZR-M1 MotoGP bike with its radical crossplane crankshaft.

Unlike typical inline four-cylinder engine designs where the two outer and two inner

pistons move together in pairs at 180-degree intervals, the crossplane crankshaft in

the R1’s engine puts each connecting rod 90 degrees from the next, with a unique

THE YAMAHA YZF-R1

SUPERBIKEIN WOLF’S CLOTHING:

4544

firing order of 270-180-90-80. This design gives the engine a

more linear power delivery with the low-end torque of a twin

and the acceleration of an inline four for awesome power and

traction out of the corners. As an added bonus, the sound of

the R1 is unlike any other inline four-cylinder bike in the

paddock. Its precise and throaty exhaust note is both distinctive

and awe-inspiring.

For 2012, the YZF-R1 received yet another benefit from

MotoGP technology: a seven-level traction control system that

was developed specifically so the rider doesn’t feel any

unnatural or harsh intervention from the system. The traction-

control system also helps to reduce tire wear due to less wheel

spin. Coupled with a three-level D-Mode electronics throttle-

response control, riders have 21 different choices available to

tailor the R1 to their individual riding preferences and styles.

PREPARING THE MONSTER ENERGY GRAVES YAMAHA

YZF-R1 FOR THE TRACK

The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha SuperBike team starts with

stock R1 machines. But in the fiercely fought AMA Pro National

Guard SuperBike class, modifications are the name of the game.

So top-notch racing components like Öhlins front and rear

suspension, OZ magnesium wheels, Braking USA wave rotors,

Brembo calipers and brake pads, and other closed-course-

competition parts are used to increase performance and reduce

weight. The engine is meticulously modified for performance,

and Magneti Marelli ECU and engine management, NGK Racing

spark plugs, and a Graves Motorsports® underseat twin exhaust

system are added. Sharkskinz® lightweight bodywork, Zero

Gravity® windscreen, Graves Motorsports rearsets and

handlebars, Dynojet quick shifter, Speedcell battery, Vortex

sprockets, D.I.D 520ERV3 chain, Dunlop spec racing slicks, and

Yamalube performance lubricants round out the SuperBike

performance package.

4746

The rules that are in place for the AMA Pro Road Racing Vance & Hines XR1200

series differ slightly from the other AMA Pro Racing classes. The XR1200 series is

a spec class, so rules are designed and enforced in order to keep all machines on

a nearly level playing field. The successful series returns in 2012.

Using the same XR1200 platform as the base motorcycle, participants are allowed

to add a Vance & Hines race kit, and also change suspension and controls. The kit,

supplied by Vance & Hines, includes a Vance & Hines exhaust system, race

bodywork and seat, steering damper, Fuelpak fuel system, a 17-inch front wheel

and fender and a relocation kit for the oil cooler. The kit costs $3500.

In addition, there is a spec fuel for the class—Sunoco—and spec tires from Dunlop.

Participants in the XR1200 series are allowed to personalize their setup with

suspension, handlebars and controls. With a near 60-inch wheelbase, though, they

won’t be making an XR into anything like a CBR600RR without a Pentagon-level

budget.

When a modified XR1200 is rolled to the grid, it weighs 520-530 pounds and looks

a lot like a 1970s Superbike or XR750 dirt track bike, with wide bars, an interesting

profile and scant bodywork. The engine isn’t hidden behind plastic panels on an

XR1200—it’s right there. With kit parts in place, the XR1200 will boast 85

horsepower and pump its pushrods to around 7000 rpm.

XR1200 RACING TECH

HARLEY-DAVIDSON

4948

What results is close racing. While no XR1200 will set the

highest trap speed for an event (an XR1200 race bike will

top out at around 130 mph) the class rules and diligent

enforcement prevent any one motorcycle from sprinting

away to a huge margin of victory. If that does happen, it’s

because the rider of the bike was able to ride his way to

an advantage.

As with any spec bike race class, the participants are

usually pushing rules interpretation right to the boundaries

set up by the sanctioning body. Technical bulletins

covering items such as pulleys, control location, number

plate modifications and gearing have been issued.

There are 18 pre-entries for the Vance & Hines XR1200

class at Daytona.

Clearly AMA Pro Road Racing is trying to appeal to a

spectator who may not normally consider an AMA Pro

road race as a potential weekend activity with the Vance

& Hines XR1200 series.

Last year at the Red Bull Indy GP, the XR1200 series ran

alongside the Grand Prix bikes as a support class.

This event saw the highest number of entries in the class

all season, with over 30 bikes on the grid for the Indy

XR1200 race.

Ironically, the Indy XR1200 class was very popular with

persons who are used to seeing carbon fiber used in just

about any application, where a rider’s pet may sometimes

fly first class with the Grand Prix paddock. In many of the

GP garages, the XR1200 race was on the flat panel

television, with a small crowd watching the very American,

outwardly very simple form of motorcycle racing. When

one of the bikes was parked in the GP paddock for a few

minutes, several European GP elite walked over and

posed for a personal photo with the bike.

50 51

2012 AMA PRO ROAD RACING

SEASONPREVIEW

5352

JOSHHAYES

The 2012 season of AMA Pro Road Racing is about to kick

off with an impressive group of riders and teams returning to

the series. In addition, the series boasts three new rounds

for 2012, including one classic track, one new facility and

one that the series has not visited since the 1990s.

In AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, the two main

protagonists return from 2011, and both riders are certainly

looking forward to the rematch. Two-time

series champion Josh Hayes will again be astride

his number 1 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1

SuperBike, and Hayes’ archrival and championship number-

two man, Blake Young, will be back in the saddle of the

number 79 Yoshimura Suzuki.

Both riders get new teammates for 2012. Hayes will be

joined on the signature blue Yamaha squad by Georgian

Josh Herrin, who moves up to the big bike after his multiyear

tour of duty racing a YZF-R6 in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona

SportBike. Herrin is a complete National Guard SuperBike

rookie and will start his first-ever SuperBike race at Daytona

in March. It’s a new man across the tent for Blake Young,

as well. Former Yamaha man Chris Clark joins Young on the

Yoshimura Suzuki SuperBike team.

For Herrin, preseason testing has been both comfortable and

surprising. He’s at home on the SuperBike, and many seem

surprised that Herrin is almost as fast as his two-time

championship-winning teammate. Both are quick to point out

that testing is testing, and racing may well be another matter.

On the Michael Jordan Motorsports–sponsored Suzuki

squad, both riders that “Michael” fielded in 2011 are back in

2012. Former SuperBike series champion, ex-World

SuperBike rider and easily one of the most popular riders in

the championship today, Ben Bostrom returns for another

season on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, while his ’11

teammate, Roger Lee Hayden, an ex-WSBK rider himself and

former AMA SuperSport Champion, returns to the sister bike

to Bostrom’s, the National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000.

As for new faces on the National Guard SuperBike grid for

2012, perhaps it is ex-Supermoto rider Chris Fillmore who

tops that list. Michigan-native Fillmore rode a limited 2011

schedule on the KTM RC8R SuperBike, prepared by HMC,

but 2012 sees him back for a full season.

Erik Buell Racing will again enter its EBR 1190RS in the

SuperBike class with Geoff May returning to the team, and

BLAKEYOUNG

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JOSHHERRIN

CHRISCLARK

Danny Eslick is joining him on the Wisconsin-built

machinery. Buell made news in the preseason by

announcing a sponsorship package with Hero MotoCorp,

an Indian concern.

Ohio-native and veteran rider Larry Pegram will again be

racing the BMW S1000R SuperBike, sponsored by

Foremost Insurance in AMA Pro Racing SuperBike events.

Other veterans like Shawn Higbee, also aboard an EBR

1190RS, and Taylor Knapp, who is racing a Suzuki GSX-

R1000, will make SuperBike starts at Daytona.

Beyond those names, there is no shortage of rumors of

riders who may pick an odd race here or there to spice

things up. Eric Bostrom, Jake Zemke and a host of others

are rumored to be working on SuperBike rides for 2012.

In the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class, perhaps

the biggest off-season news is that former series champion

Martin Cardenas will return to the GoPro Daytona SportBike

class for 2012. Cardenas is pegged by many as one of the

best riders racing in the United States, and his return to the

GoPro Daytona SportBike class means his rivals will have to

work just that much harder.

Two late entries for the Daytona 200 weekend are former

200 winners Steve Rapp and Jake Zemke. Rapp will be

back aboard an Attack Kawasaki in the SuperBike class,

while Zemke will be on a Ducshop Ducati 848 in the 200.

Where have they been of late? Zemke set pole for the 2011

Daytona 200 while Rapp put in several stirring performances

on a variety of different motorcycles in ’11. Both are

welcome additions to the Daytona event, and say they are

confident they will race the entire season.

Behind Cardenas is a horde of riders encompassing a wide

swath of talent and experience. Rookies? Cameron Beaubier,

Garrett Gerloff, Jake Gagne, Benny Solis, David Gaviria and

others. Veterans? Dane Westby, JD Beach, Tommy Aquino,

Ricky Orlando, Cory West, and the Sadowski brothers,

David Jr. and Matt. What’s more, Daytona 200-winner

Jason DiSalvo will return to GoPro Daytona SportBike

in 2012, but will be on a Triumph Daytona 675 instead of a

Ducati 848.

With Josh Herrin and Danny Eslick moving

up to SuperBike, the next generation of

American racing stars will certainly be

produced from the action in the Daytona

SportBike class. In addition, Elena Myers

will return to her Suzuki ride in the AMA Pro

Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport

class for the third straight year.

Among the biggest news for the series is

the addition of more races in new venues.

Billed as a “series within a series,” the Big

Kahuna Triple Crown encompasses three

exciting, new race weekends—sponsored

by Dunlop—that have been added to the

2012 AMA Pro Racing schedule.

On the weekend of April 20-22, 2012, AMA

Pro Racing returns to the 2.55-mile circuit

in the hills of Braselton, GA, for the Big

Kahuna Atlanta. The track is located just 35

miles outside of Atlanta and has a rich

history with AMA Pro Road Racing dating

back to Eddie Lawson’s 1980 AMA Pro

SuperBike victory.

After the New Jersey Motorsports Park

round, AMA Pro Road Racing will head

south for the inaugural Big Kahuna Miami,

scheduled for the weekend of September

21-23, 2012, at Homestead-Miami Speed-

way, which is located south of Miami in

Homestead, FL.

Two weeks later, the AMA Pro Road Racing

season will come to a close at America’s

newest racetrack, with the Big Kahuna New

Orleans, scheduled for the weekend of

October 5-7, 2012. This will be the first

professional motorsports event to be held

at NOLA Motorsports Park. The track is

located just 20 minutes from the historic

French Quarter area in downtown New

Orleans, LA.5756

BENBOSTROM

ROGERLEEHAYDEN

CAMERONBEAUBIER

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CHRISFILLMORE

GARRETGERLOFF

MARTINCARDENAS

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If you think professional racing sounds like an easy life, you’ve obviously never tried to make a living by circulating

at speeds approaching 190 mph and more over undulating and challenging racetracks, while a host of very fast

guys try to take your paycheck away from you. And, by the way, in 2012 you’ll have to have no less than 11 tracks

memorized, down cold, every turn. Here’s a brief look at what that all entails.

TRACKS IN REVIEW

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE INFO ON THESE TRACKSRace Course: 4.05-mile, 14-turn natural road courseroadamerica.com

ROAD AMERICA JUNE 1 - 3 ROUND 5

Race Course: 15-turn, 3.06-mile natural road courseMillerMotorsportsPark.com

MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK MAY 26 - 28 ROUND 4

Race Course: 2.32-mile, 12-turn natural road courseinfineonraceway.com

INFINEON RACEWAY MAY 4 - 6 ROUND 3

Race Course: 2.55-mile,12-turn natural road courseroadatlanta.com

ROAD ATLANTA APRIL 20 - 22 ROUND 2

Traditional Motorcycle Course: 3.51-mile,12-turn speedway road courseShort Course: 2.90, 12-turn speedway road coursedaytonainternationalspeedway.com

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY MARCH 15 - 17 ROUND 1

North Track: Long Course: 2.75-mile,16-turn road coursenolamotor.com

NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK OCTOBER 5 - 7 ROUND 11

Race Course: 2.21-mile,14-turn speedway road coursehomesteadmiamispeedway.com

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY SEPTEMBER 21 - 23 ROUND 10

Race Course: 2.25-mile, 14-turn road coursenjmp.com

NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK SEPTEMBER 7 - 9 ROUND 9

Race Course: 2.238-mile, 11-turn natural road coursemazdaraceway.com

MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA JULY 27 - 29 ROUND 8

Race Course: 2.55-mile,12-turn natural road coursemidohio.com

MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE JULY 13 - 15 ROUND 7

Race Course: 2.4-mile, 15-turn natural road coursebarbermotorsports.com

BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK JUNE 22 - 24 ROUND 6

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Images capture a moment in time, and often the most compelling

images never make it into publication. Which is why we like photo

essays. They give you the freedom to publish images for reasons other

than story content, which opens the door for something special.

When it comes to shooting road racing photography, nobody’s eyes are

as magic as Brian Nelson’s. A long-time veteran of the AMA Pro

trenches, Brian can likely tell you precisely what time of day will give

you the best light on every corner of every track on the AMA Pro circuit.

He also has an encyclopedic knowledge of AMA Pro road racing, as well

as every decent diner between Daytona and Laguna Seca. The following

pages contain some of our favorite Nelson shots from the year.

MAGIC EYES

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THE ENTIRE FIELD OF XR1200 RACERS KISS THE SACRED BRICKS ATTHE HALLOWED INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.

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GIVIRIA LEADS THE SUPERSPORT START IN UTAH

DAVID GIVIRIA—2011 AMA PRO SUPERSPORT WEST CHAMP, AT SPEED IN UTAH

BENNY SOLIS WINS AT BARBER, BUT ELENA MYERS IN THIRDBEATS THE BOYS WITH THE FASTEST RACE LAP.

JOSH HERRIN LEAVES THE 600SBEHIND FOR A SUPERBIKE RIDE IN 2012.

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JOSH HAYES ENJOYS THE CHAMPIONSHIP SPOILS AND AKISS FROM HIS WIFE AND FELLOW RACER MELISSA.

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SUPERBIKE RACE ATINFINEON; THE HUNTERS

AND THE HUNTED.

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JASON DISALVO ATSPEED AT INDY.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE IMAGES

DANNY ESLICK CELEBRATES HIS 2011 DAYTONASPORTBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP IN NEW JERSEY.

©2012 Dunlop • P. O. Box 1109, Buffalo, New York 14240-1109 • 800-845-8378 • dunlopmotorcycle.com