Dunlop returns to Le Mans for the fourth round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto on September 23-25.

It’s the second time this year that Dunlop will race around the clock at the iconic French motor racing venue, and also the second 24 hours race in the EWC to take place in France after Dunlop scored an historic eleven wins in a row at the EWC season-opening Bol d’Or at Magny Cours in April.

“Le Mans is a world-renowned motor racing location and one which is inextricably linked with Dunlop thanks to the Dunlop Bridge which spans the track,” says Dunlop Motorsport Service Engineer, Peter Chapman.

“Endurance racing, whether on two wheels or four, is an essential part of our race to road tyre development for our two and four wheel programmes so the Le Mans Moto 24 is a valuable event for this process.

“Dunlop uses endurance racing as a very strong proving ground for our motorcycle tyre technology, with the variety of conditions encountered during the course of a race enabling Dunlop’s race to road philosophy to develop such advancements as NTEC and Multi-Tread.”

Last time Dunlop raced at Le Mans was in the 79^th running of the car race in June, where a LMP2 1-2 was achieved with class winning Greaves Motorsport and second finishing Signatech Nissan.

“Even though both the car and motorcycle Le Mans 24 hours take place at the same venue the two events are very different in character,” says Chapman.

“The car race takes place on a track made up of the permanent race circuit and the public roads,   whereas the motorcycle race takes place only using the 4.18km Le Mans Bugatti permanent race circuit.

“This won’t be the first time which Dunlop visits the permanent race circuit either, as we were here in May for the fourth round of the Moto2 and 125cc World Championships, so we have good data and information of the circuit heading into this event.”

Dunlop tyres feature on a number of the frontrunners, including the reigning EWC champions and long-time Dunlop partners, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) with Vincent Philippe, Freddy Foray and Anthony Delhalle. The squad currently sit in a close second position in this season’s title race, just six points adrift of the lead with two events to go.

New to the Dunlop stable, and the EWC in 2011, is the Honda TT Legends team with John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Cameron Donald. In addition, a Dunlop leads the Stock class with the Motors Events squad.

Dunlop Motorsport’s, Senior Tyre Engineer (Motorcycle Race) Chris Valentine gives his take on the challenge of the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto.

“The Le Mans Bugatti permanent race circuit is all about braking and traction demands over its 4.18km, with numerous slow speed corners requiring heaving braking in their approach, and then hard acceleration on their exit,” says Valentine.

“The circuit surface is quite smooth and slippery and the layout itself doesn’t offer much camber to assist cornering so the tyres have to work well to deliver suitable levels of grip.

“Previously, this race would start the season, so hopefully the challenge of 24 hour racing at temperatures approaching 0°C in April at this low grip circuit, will be a bit easier this year with the September date. But that said, the weather at Le Mans at any time of the year can always spring a surprise.

“If the weather is cool there can be a reasonable amount of abrasion from the track surface and if it’s wet the surface becomes even more slippery. The drainage is not as rapid as at some venues, meaning that standing water is more prevalent. Either way, there is plenty of potential for our tyre engineers to be kept busy with tyre evaluation.”

The Le Mans Moto 24, round four of the FIM Endurance World Championship, starts with practice and qualifying on September 22-23. The race starts on Saturday September 24 at 15:00 local time.

Watch Dunlop Motorsport’s Jean-Felix Bazelin discuss the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGHT7C0pYZ4

The FIM Endurance World Championship concludes with the 8 Hours of Doha, Qatar on November 12.