Metzeler RR Ready to Race

The introduction of Metzeler’s third generation Racetecs has moved the hypersports market rubber up another notch.

Better stability, improved grip levels and more durability. The press pack for Metzeler’s new RR reads like many others, but its riding experience surpasses most products on the market. Replacing the popular Racetec Interact, the latest hypersport offering from the experienced German brand is, quite simply, exceptional.

Honed on the roads, taking a win at last year’s Isle of Man TT, this next-generation rubber is specifically targeted at race and trackday users (K1 and K2 compounds), although there’s also a road-spec variant (K3 compound) available.

Great stability:

The new rubber runs a steel belt, as is typical with a lot of contemporary Metzelers, but the tyres feel stiffer under load than the Interacts. They don’t squat under trailing brake and seemmore suited to hard acceleration too. The general feel is plusher against the road’s surface, with less flex and movement to compromise the tyres’ tracking, in, during, or out of a bend.

Loads of grip:

Front-end grip is exceptional. Over the duration of the test, riding with a K2 compound front tyre with ambient temperatures ranging from 514ºC, the leading rubber never once showed signs of quitting, regardless of lean angle, speed or additional load from mid-corner braking. The rear was pretty fantastic too. In all, I clocked more than 300 miles on an RR rear (K2) and struggled to get the R6 sliding, even when being ham-fisted, riding on off-camber corners.

Fantastic feedback:

In my experience Metzelers have always been great at letting you knowwhat’s going on beneath the bike and the new RRs uphold this great quality. They’re very talkative and it’s easy to feel your way in and around a corner. Weighting the bike differently (moving forwards for example) can exaggerate the feedback, while also aiding the handling.

Inspiring agility:

Until trying the RRs, I’d never used a 60-profile sidewall on a track tyre. I thought it would have really slowed down the bike’s handling, but it didn’t. The balance of the front and rear profiles is perfectly matched and there’s no awkward pause in transition as one tyre tries to catch the other up during transition from lean-to-lean. The flickability of the tyres proved easy and inspiring at all paces, and this despite trying a range of different tyre pressures to optimise grip.

Top rate durability:

The K2 rubber was tested the most, seeing use over 300 track miles. The front tyre looked untouched, while the rear’s wear was surprising. To put things in perspective, you’re looking to get around two to three track days from a rear RR, possibly double that from the front. The K3s would deliver even more, but with less grip, while the K1s, used in the right temperatures, should deliver the same performance as the K2s.