Motorcycle Grand Prix racing’s newest and most vibrant class burst onto the calendar in 2010: an inaugural year that saw the shrinking classic 250 class replaced with 600cc four-strokes, with more than 40 riders filling the starting grids.

Dunlop had won the final open tyre 250 title after dominating the class for 219 consecutive victories and 17 consecutive World Championship titles. Dunlop won the inaugural Moto2 title as well … but in different conditions. The new class used control tyres, with Dunlop awarded the contract to supply all competitors with the same restricted choice of rubber.

For the first time in World Championship bike GP racing, Moto2 also introduced a control engine. All competitors were issued with identical four-cylinder units based on Honda CBR600 street-bike engines. With electronics also under overall control, the differences were in the chassis design. The new racing parameters gave a host of specialist designers a way back in to World Championship racing, and in the first year 15 different chassis manufacturers took part. All but one scored points, while eight different marques made the top three. The similar specifications and grids packed with talent ensured close racing and even closer qualifying: at Le Mans the first 27 riders were within one second of pole. Seven out of 17 races were won by a margin of less than a second. The volatile nature of the class meant there were nine different race winners over the year.

In line with the racing dictum – that cream always rises – seven of them were won by a single rider: eventual champion Toni Elias riding a Moriwaki. The Spanish star had moved into Moto2 from the MotoGP class, where he had been a race winner.

His performance in the new, volatile and competitive class has enabled him to secure a MotoGP place in 2011. His closest title rival, reigning GP125 champion Julian Simon did not win once, but rostrum consistency put him ahead overall of three-times winner Andrea Iannone.

The remaining seven races each had a different winner, and most of them – along with Simon and Iannone – will be back in 2011 to continue battle. For Dunlop, the task of supplying every rider meant a doubling up of track facilities; and another exacting task for engineers. Combining research and experience with innovation, Dunlop provided a choice of two different tyres for each race, tailor-made for the individual circuits. The allocation included mixed-compound tyres.

The lessons learned in a highly successful 2010 will not only influence the design of the 2011 racing tyre range, but will also be used to benefit road tyre design. In the same way, Moto2 has helped the continuing development of Dunlop’s exclusive NTEC technology, a construction technique that allows lower tyre pressures while improving ride control, traction, grip and endurance.

@TomMoto2Travel