Motorcycle racer Michael Dunlop was lucky to ride away from a high-speed tire failure that sent rubber flying into the crowd during a race in Northern Ireland, amateur video shows.
The incident, which shows Dunlop's rear tire disintegrating at high speed, was filmed by a spectator at the North West 200, a TT racing event that took place earlier this month. The biker was able to keep his Hawk Suzuki upright despite the sudden change in rear traction. No injuries were reported.
Dunlop was one of several bikers to experience issues with a bad batch of tires supplied by, ironically, tire maker Dunlop. The company and the biker have no relation.
Shortly after Michael Dunlop's incident, Dunlop, the tire maker, made the decision to withdraw its tires, and by extension, all competitors using its rubber, from the event.
“...at the end of the first Superbike race, there was a problem with the tires used by Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman and Brian McCormack," a Dunlop spokesperson told News Letter.
"But on safety grounds, we just had to make the decision to pull the riders out of the final Superbike race...I got in touch with our technical development guys over at the factory and it was essentially a bad batch of tires,” the spokesperson added.
Dunlop has ensured riders that the issue has been corrected, and will not affect tires supplied for the upcoming Isle of Man TT, happening May 28 - June 11.
Brian Silvestro is Hearst Autos' former lead deputy editor for rankings content. He spent over seven years as a staff writer for Road & Track Magazine where he contributed car reviews, industry interviews, and more. He has a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
