said the Q4 felt naturally like a race tire, and
he's right. It's also easier to use than a race tire.
Tires like the Q4, like the Pirelli Diablo
Superbike SC3 slick, the Metzeler Racetek RR
CompK slick, all deliver track-oriented perfor-
mance with no need for the effort required to
get the most from pure racing tires.
What that means is that if you're not try-
ing to win a race, you can simply set your tire
pressures in the morning, leave the bike on the
sidestand, and when your group is called, hit
the track and give the tires half a lap to come up
into their operating range. Then it's gas-it time!
And in sketchy conditions—cold, perhaps
damp patches on the track—the track day
tires are easier to keep in their operating range
than pure racing tires. I've had more than one
professional racer talk about the challenge of
going out in less-than-optimal weather condi-
tions, knowing that it was even more critical
to push hard to keep heat in their race tires.
That's a mental challenge that a track day rider
can do without.
With the track day tires, no, the ultimate,
final bit of grip of a pure racing tire is not there.
But several of us here at Roadracing World have
ridden at track days during the past year on
track day tires with no warmers and had a very,
very enjoyable time on the track at significant
lean angles. And we enjoyed not messing with
stands and tire warmers in the garage as well!
The track day rider who does not want to
use warmers might consider:
`Bridgestone: Battlax S21
`Dunlop: Sportmax Q4, Sportmax Q3+
`Metzeler: Racetec RR CompK Slick
`Michelin: Power Slick Evo, Power Cup Evo,
Power RS, and Power Performance Cup
`Pirelli: Diablo Superbike SC3, Super Corsa
TD (Track Day)
(Above) A Dunlop Sportmax Q4 front tire. (Be-
low) Dunlop racing slicks are now available in
sizes to fit MotoAmerica Junior Cup bikes like
the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and KTM RC 390.
RWRoadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019—37