Moto2: De Angelis experiments with new Dunlop rubber

Alex De Angelis took part in a recent tyre test as Dunlop steps up its development programme for new rubber for the 2013 Moto2 world championship.

The two-day test took place at the Goodyear Dunlop-owned Mireval facility in the South of France.

Dunlop invited all Moto2 chassis manufacturers to participate in the test, making various concepts of potential future tyres available.

De Angelis plus Dominique Aegerter evaluated new front and rear specifications, focusing on construction, profile and compounds elements.

Both riders provided valuable feedback to assist the development process, completing over 400 laps.

Stephen Bickley, Dunlop Motorsport, Senior Race Engineer, said: "The two days of testing could have not gone more to plan.

"The test was not about finding ultimate lap time - although lap time and high performance is taken into consideration - but more to find development directions for the future, to understand new concepts and build a structure for the next test which planned later in the year.

"The weather was hot with both days 32C ambient and 45C track peak, which certainly helped us, and gave our UK engineers some respite from the recent wet weather at home!

"We have identified three evolutions which showed strong potential and will be taken through to the final development phase later this year: a new front tyre concept, a new rear tyre construction and an improved compound process," he added.

"The new front concept is showing extremely strong results. The new rear construction went through its second test and is showing huge potential, such that it will now be refined and assess from a manufacturing perspective.

"Finally, the new techniques to our compounding processes have seen a measurable improvement through a lift in both quality and performance so they can certainly been deemed a success."