Despite sharing the Racetec RR name with it’s softer K1 & K2 cousins, the Racetec RR K3 from Metzeler is very much a road tyre which is well up to the job of the occasional track day should that take your fancy!
Launched at the end of 2014, Alastair Fagan & Baron of 44teeth.com have recently spent a day thrashing a pair around Silverstone on a KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
Although Pirelli and Metzeler are essentially one and the same, this does not mean that the Racetec is just a re-branded Supercorsa. Metzeler are very much focused on the road racing scene, which is where the new Racetec RR range was developed, whilst Pirelli have gone after the short circuit market through their associations with World & British Superbikes.
Despite the cold conditions at Silverstone, the Metzeler’s impressed with their fast warm up time and instantly inspired more confidence that the OE tyres on the bike.
They pair report that the Metzeler now feels more like a Dunlop carcass than anything akin to the outgoing Interact saying that “it’s more stable in almost every aspect without sacrificing that trademark abundance in feedback.”
With Dunlop still the most successful tyre brand around the famous TT mountain course, they must be doing something right, so you can understand why Metzeler may look to achieve something similar with their new rubber.
“In terms of longevity, you’ll be treated to two sessions with uncompromised grip levels before starting to observe perceptible degradation” say the pair. “There clearly isn’t the outright grip of its peers during acceleration from the rear but it’s all very civilised unless you’re asking for excess throttle inputs. We didn’t notice any drop-off from the front tyre throughout the day until the very end, where it felt as though it could do with another few psi. And except for overzealous off-the-throttle front-end exploitation and obvious warnings on the very side of the tyre, there’s very little to complain about. The 1290 isn’t exactly renowned for its stability, yet the palpable steering sharpness was beautifully controllable from upright to big lean, neutral and predictable.”
After six 25-minute sessions around Silverstone without warmers, they then got the chance to test the K3 on the roads, and were again impressed by the all-round performance the tyre offered:
“Away from the track, the K3s road manners imitate circuit etiquette: easy, predictable, intuitive and brag all the grip you’ll ever need for the road combined with greater stability than the Supercorsa SP.”
The only problem for the road going Racetec RR?
The two riders think Metzeler’s latest Sportec M7 RR hypersport tyre is so good in both wet and dry conditions that you’ll really have to be asking some serious questions of it before you need to think about going for an even sportier tyre for the roads.
Read their review in full online at 44teeth.com.
You can find out more about the Racetec RR K3 here.
