02
October
2018
|
08:46 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

Dunlop’s 2018 FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships set for new challenge in Thailand

Moto2 & Moto3 InFocus: October
 
Dunlop’s 2018 FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships set for new challenge in Thailand

The 2018 FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships head to a brand new circuit this week when the Dunlop teams take to the Buriram International circuit in Thailand on 7th October for round 15. Two weeks later they head to Twin Ring Motegi (Japan), on 21st October, and a week later to Phillip Island in Australia.
 
The Buriram circuit is completely new to the Dunlop engineers, however, they have selected the softer tyre range for the new track, designed to cater for the demands of the low energy surface. For both Motegi and Phillip Island the Dunlop engineers have also selected a softer front Moto2 tyre as an option alongside the traditional ‘2’ medium front for riders to see which they prefer. The softer ‘343’ was successfully tested in both Le Mans & Mugello.
 
September Recap – records broken and race pace heats up
Round 13 at Misano saw another new Moto3 winner in the form of Lorenzo Dalla Porta after a five-way battle for honours. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi crashed out on the final tour, handing the championship lead back to Jorge Martin who finished second. Fourth-placed Gabriel Rodrigo claimed a new lap record, set in 2016, a time of 1`42.381. In Moto2 Francesco Bagnaia led from start to finish to record a sixth win of the year, three seconds clear of Miguel Oliveira, to extend his championship lead. Marcel Schrotter took third, his first podium of the season. A consistent performance across the race, with fast lap times coming in the second half and three riders posting their fastest time on the final two laps. 
 
Motorland Aragon was the venue for round 14, where early indications showed the Dunlop tyres working well with fast lap times across Moto3. Bezzecchi was first to break the record in practice, until Martin went even faster in qualifying, breaking the lap record by over half a second, in a time of 1`57.066. Martin took a dominant sixth Moto3 win by six seconds over Bezzecchi to increase his advantage at the top of the tables. Brad Binder converted his maiden Moto2 pole to his second win of the season in a race that was ten seconds faster than last year. Bagnaia finished second and Lorenzo Baldassarri third. Title contender Oliveira finished seventh, allowing Bagnaia to extend his championship lead to nineteen points. 
 
#ForeverForward 2018
Moto2 championship contender Miguel Oliveira continues to lead Dunlop’s ForeverForward overtaking league table, but his advantage has been slightly reduced after the rounds in Misano and Aragon. Jakub Kornfeil is just 16 points behind, having gained an extra place over his chief rival. Top mover across the last two rounds was third-placed Andrea Migno, who gained 25 places combined, but it was Marco Bezzecchi who improved the most from his start position; having been penalised in Aragon, he fought his way through from 18th to second to keep his overall Moto3 title hopes on track.
 
#ForeverForward after round 14:
 
1
Miguel OLIVEIRA
Moto2
97
2
Jakub KORNFEIL
Moto3
81
3
Andrea MIGNO
Moto3
77
4
Dennis FOGGIA
Moto3
76
5
Steven ODENDAAL
Moto2
67
6
Joan MIR
Moto2
67
7
Joe ROBERTS
Moto2
61
8
Jules DANILO
Moto2
57
9
Alonso LOPEZ
Moto3
56
10
Brad BINDER
Moto2
55
 
 
The full #ForeverForward table can be seen here.
 
Round 15: Buriram International Circuit, Thailand –  7 October 2018
  • The Buriram International Circuit hosts its first World Championship round this weekend
  • Dunlop has selected the softer option tyres to cater for the demands of the low/mid energy track
Buriram Track Facts:
  • Length: 4.554km
  • Left Turns: 5
  • Right Turns: 7
  • Low/Mid:
  • Left:right bias:  35%/65%
Buriram Tyre Allocation: 
Moto2
Front: Medium '2' (yellow) 
Rear: Extra Soft ‘0’ (yellow) / ‘2R1’ Soft
                                      
Moto3
Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)
Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium 'M1' (black on silver) 
 
Round 16: Twin Ring Motegi, Japan –  21 October 2018
  • Dunlop will offer a choice of Moto2 front tyres, the usual allocation of #2 medium tyre, and a softer option ‘343’ successfully tested in both Le Mans & Mugello
Motegi Track Facts:
  • Length: 4.801km
  • Left Turns: 6
  • Right Turns: 8
  • Energy level: Low
  • Left:right bias: 45%/55%
Motegi Allocation: 
 
Moto2
Front: Soft ‘343’ / Medium '2' (yellow)
Rear: Extra Soft ‘0R1’ (yellow) / Soft ‘2R1’
                                      
Moto3
Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)
Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium 'M1' (black on silver)
 
Motegi 2017 Highlights
  • Wet conditions greeted the teams and riders, with just 20 minutes of dry running time for Moto2 across the whole weekend
  • Moto3 race was shortened to 13 laps due to an oil spillage in warm-up making conditions difficult
  • Romano Fenati took Moto3 victory, championship leader Joan Mir only 17th
  • Alex Marquez took the Moto2 race win from Hafizh Syahrin, Xavi Vierge took his and Tech3’s first podium of the year 
Round 17: Phillip Island, Australia –  28 October 2018
  • Dunlop will offer a choice of Moto2 front tyres, the usual allocation of #2 medium tyre, and a softer option ‘343’ successfully tested in both Le Mans & Mugello
Phillip Island Track Facts:
  • Length: 4.448km
  • Left Turns: 7
  • Right Turns: 5
  • Energy level: Very High
  • Left:right bias: 55%/45%
Phillip Island Allocation: 
Moto2
Front: Soft ‘343’ / Medium '2' (yellow)
Rear: Extra Hard ‘S1’ (yellow) / Special Hard ‘S2’
                                      
Moto3
Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)
Rear: Medium 'M1' (black on silver) / Hard ‘H3’ (yellow on black)
 
Phillip Island 2017 Highlights
  • Low track temperatures were experienced last year, all Dunlop tyres performed exceptionally equally well, with the decisions of which to use purely based on rider preference
  • The Moto3 race red flagged after 15 laps due to rain
  • Mir was awarded the victory and claimed the Moto3 title
  • Miguel Oliveira won in Moto2, marking a first KTM win, leading team-mate Brad Binder to a 1-2