Dunlop relaunches a bespoke Super Touring tyre

Dunlop has relaunched its Super Touring tyre, with the aim of boosting grid sizes in historic racing.

During the late 1990s, the British Touring Car Championship housed a four-way tyre war between Dunlop, Pirelli, Michelin and Yokohama.

After being tested by two-time BTCC champion John Cleland and prolific Historic Sports Car Club Super Touring Car Trophy racer James Dodd, Dunlop has reintroduced a similarspecification into production.

To reduce costs for competitors, the new tyre will be more durable than its 1990s counterpart but produces similar grip. It follows demand from competitors, and will also be constructed using the same compound as the current BTCC tyres, which Dunlop also builds.

Size restrictions meant Hoosier supplied the HSCC grid which has struggled to consistently attract more than 11 entries outside of headline events such as the Silverstone Classic.

Dunlop Motorsport’s Michael Butler, who offered tyre support to Super Touring teams in period, said: “Cars that are this advanced need a bespoke tyre.

“In the nineties, there were no limits on tyre development. We had qualifying tyres, specifications for sprint and endurance races and different tyres to suit each manufacturer. Modern day historic racing teams do not need this complexity. We’ve used the latest materials to replicate the performance of that ‘tyre war’ era but with the durability and consistency that’s important for a season on a sustainable budget.”