The German tyre brand will fit the new Honda CRF450 RALLY of riders Helder Rodrigues, Sam Sunderland and Javier Pizzolito with KAROO™ Extreme prototype tyres in sizes- 90/90-21 front and 140/80-18 rear
Munich (Germany), 14 October 2013 – Metzeler has been chosen by Team HRC Rally, the Honda works motorcycle rally team, as tyre supplier and technical partner to face the toughest raids and rally competitions in the world, among them the 2014 edition of the prestigious Dakar.
The new Honda CRF450 RALLY of the riders Helder Rodrigues, Sam Sunderland and Javier Pizzolito will be fitted with KAROO™ Extreme prototype tyres in sizes- 90/90-21 front and 140/80-18 rear. The product used in the competitions in which Team HRC Rally will take part, the Metzeler KAROO™ Extreme, is a prototype tyre not available for sale because it is specifically developed for competitions in collaboration with Team HRC Rally and will be used in different competitions, including the challenging Dakar. With the name KAROO™ Extreme the goal was to emphasize two important aspects behind the development of this product that combines the heritage and experience of the KAROO™ in enduro on/off use and the "extreme" experience of Metzeler in the international enduro competitions with the MCE 6 Days Extreme, the 22 times Enduro World Championship winner tyre.
This product for rally raid competitions is therefore the natural evolution of Metzeler in off-road activities. The rear tyre has been specifically developed to provide a 0 degrees steel belt together with a 4-ply carcass and a new generation of compounds featuring Metzeler’s exclusive mixing process: all these elements combined together are able to ensure excellent durability and resistance for the tyre and to offer top performance throughout the entire race. The front tyre is available in two different versions to cope with all types of soils, from those hard and rocky to those softer and with sand. Team HRC and its riders will thus be able to choose, with the help of Metzeler technicians present onsite, the best solution depending on the type of stage they have to face. The first testing ground with which Metzeler will work with the Team HRC Rally is the Rallye OiLibya du Maroc that starts today and will end on October 19. This competition will be the first important opportunity to gather feedback on the behaviour of riders and tyres with the motorcycle and prepare for the most important event, the 36th edition of the Dakar which will take place from 5 to 18 of January 2014 on the varied lands of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. More information regarding the entire range of Metzeler racing, road and off road tyres visit www.metzeler.co.uk and www.facebook.com/MetzelerUK
