As they have since 1997, Dunlop will offer a dual-compound tire for the Superbike riders at PPIR this weekend. One side of the tire has a hard compound for the banking and fast lefts, the other side is a soft compound for the slow rights in the infield.
"It worked out pretty well for us last year, with the race going down to the wire," says Dunlop's Jim Allen. "We use the dual-compounds here, at Daytona and when we used to go to Vegas." "Pretty well" is a relative term. Pascal Picotte used a conventional Dunlop slick and almost won the race.

The weather may negate Picotte and others making such a gamble again. This year's race is almost a month earlier than last year's, and the added heat might not allow the option of running a conventional single compound slick. "Last year some guys used a standard tire and got away with it, but this year the hotter weather might not allow them to," says Allen.