View source for Dunlop GT501: The Racers' Choice,

[[Category:Tires]]
'''A quick diatribe on why GT501's are the racers choice.''' 

The GT501 isn't a race compound, it's a standard sport touring compound. The main reasons it was chosen over other tires are: 

1) Dunlop always has a great tire vendor, Sport Tire, at the track on race weekends.<br>
2) Dunlop tires have a good reputation for consistency across production runs.<br> 
3) Dunlop tires are "known" to come up to temperature quickly.<br> 
4) The Dunlop K591 (predecessor to the GT501) was the tire of choice for Ninja 250 racers.<br> 
5) For racers only (of course) mounting, balancing and disposal is always free and very fast.<br> 
6) The tires were proven in early testing to have consistent wear.<br> 
7) The tires were proven in early testing to be predictable in their "edge", meaning they gave some warning before beginning a slide.<br> 

Finally, their vendor, [http://www.sporttire.com/ Sport Tire], pledged to have the tire readily available and was willing to directly petition the company to hurry a production run when stocks grew thin. 

GT501's are not the holy grail of Ninja 250 racing, though. Those with more $$ than brains, or those racers who have exceeded the capabilities of the GT501 (rare) often opt to have Kosman "weld-up" their wheels to provide access to a wider range of tires, including some high performance radials. This can cost upwards of $1700 though, and the tires are commensurately more expensive.