Dunlop Hits SOAR With a Bang!

[Recidivist]

Dunlop hits SOAR with a bang!
Trackside Tire Service, PRO6 Cycle and Dunlop Race Tires entered Round #1 of SOAR competitiion with great success at Toronto Motorsports Park this past weekend.

The weekend began with sunny weather on friday morning, but quickly deteriorated with clouds and high winds. Several of riders equipped their bikes with Dunlop Rain Slicks. Most notably, Dunlop novice racer Jeff Morrison put in some terrific wet laps on his #357 CBR600RR. Jeff had never ridden on the track in the rain before, but looked like an expert out there. Although some Dunlop riders hit the wet track on GPA and 211GPA DOT race tires, it was clear that the Dunlop KR222 and KR389/KR390 rain tire combinations gave the riders a huge advantage.

Friday night was one of the worst storms we have ever experienced. Torrential rain combined with gale force winds pounded the Cayuga area all night long. The overnight rain did not deter Dunlop racers from racing saturday's races. Again, the Dunlop shod #357 CBR of Jeff Morrison was flying and he took the win in his Novice 600 Extreme qualifier. Rookie racer #71 Kristopher Garvie was also putting in some quick laps. Saturday the 8th was also the very first race for the Pro6 Dunlop Challenge. The inaugural race had a small grid, as it was pouring rain at the time of the race. The #357 of Jeff Morrison won the challenge qualifier over the rest of the field. A lot of riders decided not to risk their equipment, and skipped their qualifiers.

Finally some decent weather arrived on Sunday, and the SOAR racers finally got some dry track time. The final races started a little late, but once they began, the show was great. Dunlop was well represented in most of the classes. Most exciting was the Novice 600 Extreme class. There was a full grid of riders, and a ton of action. The first 2 1/2 laps had Dunlop bikes 1st through 5th places. The race ended up with Dunlop riders Jeff Morrison(1st) and Johnny Spinelli(2nd) leading the pack.

The following Dunlop riders stood on the podium this weekend. Alot of riders will be collecting contingency cheques over the next couple weeks!

#17 Paul Rosemond - 2nd Place - Lost Era Lightweight
#319 Mike Whitter - 1st Place - Lost Era Heavyweight
#357 Jeff Morrison - 1st Place - 600 Extreme Novice
#1 Johnny Spinelli - 2nd Pace - 600 Extreme Novice
#39 Ross Millson - 3rd Place - Open Sprint Expert
#71 Kristopher Garvie -1st Place - Rookie Cup
#391 Bentley Thistlethwaite - 3rd Place - Rookie Cup
#116 Jim Dusome - 2nd Place - Old Boys

SOAR round #1 was also the first weekend for the PRO6 Dunlop Challenge Spec Class. The race was a great success.It was very exciting to watch the Dunlop riders vying for over $2500 worth of Dunlop Sportmax D211 GPA DOT race tires. The Sportmax D211GPA is built on the same pedigree of NTec technology, introduced by Dunlop in recent years, which has revolutionized motorcycle road racing. NTec tires boast zero growth and exclusive construction characteristics accompanied by distinctive tire pressure settings which maximize tire footprint and outright grip.

The top 5 of the PRO6 Dunlop Challenge are as follows

#357 Jeff Morrison - 2 set of D211GPA's
#142 Doug Coulter - 2 rear, 1 front D211GPA's
#116 Jim Dusome - 1 Set of D211GPA's
#21 Simon Baker - 1 rear D211GPA
#1 Johnny Spinelli - 1 Front D211 GPA


Challenge riders generally use the 211GPA in their other respective classes. It's pretty clear from the above results that Dunlop 211GPA race tires will continue to make a huge imprint on the SOAR series. Considering the weather, the weekend went very well. Dunlop, PRO6 Cycle, and Trackside Tire Service would like to thank all the riders, SOAR staff, and track marshalls for making the weekend run so well, in spite of the bad weather.

I hope to see everyone(and a few more) at round #2

Ride safe, Dave