Sydney winner Wayne Maxwell first tested the new Dunlop ASBK rubber during last month’s pre-race test. Image: Keith Muir.

A newly-introduced specification of Dunlop tyres played a pivotal part in Team Suzuki rider Wayne Maxwell’s dominant Australian Superbike Championship sweep at Sydney Motorsport Park last weekend.

Prior to the round, Dunlop introduced UK-built 195/65R17 KR108 9827 (rear) and 120/70R17 KR106 343 (front) tyres in the ASBK, in which Maxwell used on his way to all four 12-lap race victories during the weekend.

The soft compound 8927 rear replaces the US-built 200/55R17 KR449 35D2 tyre on Motorcycling Australia’s official ASBK homologation list, while the medium/strong 343 front takes the position of the US-built 125/80R17 KR448 5436.

“The update was an improvement over the previous tyres available, but only minor,” Maxwell told CycleOnline.com.au. “It’s something we need to continue the development on, ongoing in the future. Although, Dunlop was obviously the tyre to be on, dominating across to weekend.

“We started to see a change in Queensland with Robbie [Bugden] winning the second race, so I think even without the update the result still would have been the same, but maybe the gap would have been a little bit closer.”

In addition, Dunlop currently has homologated a UK-built medium/soft 195/65R17 KR108 9055 rear that was introduced at Queensland Raceway, and the strong 120/70R17 KR106 302 front, which is also built in the UK.

Dunlop’s allocation also features Phillip Island-specific fronts and rears due to the unique demands of the high-speed Victorian grand prix venue. Arch-rival Pirelli also has Phillip Island specifics homologated alongside its selection of regular circuit rubber.

According to Dunlop national motorcycle motorsport manager Ken Wieden, the introduction of the latest homologated ASBK rubber came following the discontinuation of stock previously used from 2012.

“We started on the back foot in a sense, because of the transition period between the new tyres that we introduced at Eastern Creek,” Wieden told CycleOnline.com.au.

Pirelli won the official opening round at Symmons Plains with Next Gen Motorsports’ Glenn Allerton in April, before Robbie Bugden was victorious on his Dunlop-equipped Suzuki at Queensland Raceway in June. Last weekend saw Maxwell score Dunlop’s second round win at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Wieden has also moved to dismiss paddock speculation that Dunlop is losing money on its latest selection of homologated ASBK tyres due to the price cap set for this season. Following the abolishment of control tyre regulations for 2013, Superbike tyres must be homologated through MA and available for under $580 per set.

However, it is believed that both major tyre suppliers Dunlop and Pirelli are only making minimal profits, if any, under the current format.

Following concerns at Sydney Motorsport Park that preference to select teams in tyre allocation is in play, a tyre pooling system could be introduced as soon as Darwin’s penultimate round next month according to sources.

Click here to download the updated MA ASBK tyre homologation list as of 16 July 2013.