This just in:
Buffalo, NY: When Kenny Roberts won the 1983 Daytona 200 on Dunlop tires, it marked the beginning of a long Dunlop dynasty at the fabled Florida tri-oval. Since then, Dunlop has won the prestigious event 29 times, including the 2017 race with three-time winner Danny Eslick.
For this year’s event, it was an open tire rule, meaning riders were allowed to run any brand of tire then wanted. In addition to Eslick on the TOBC Racing Yamaha 600, six of the top ten finishers chose to run on Dunlop slick tires made specifically for Daytona at Dunlop’s Buffalo, NY, manufacturing facility.
In addition to Eslick’s dramatic win on the last lap, a long-standing lap record was broken. Valentin Debise on the M4 EMGO Suzuki 600 set a new track record for a 600 on the long course on lap 12 of the race with a 1:48.903, eclipsing Jason Disalvo’s 1:49.60 lap record set in 2012.
Dunlop would like to congratulate all the Daytona 200 competitors on a great race.
