Metzeler Sportec M9 RR tyre review

METZELER’S latest Sportec M9 RR has some pretty big shoes to fill. The outgoing model, the M7 RR was always a swiss army knife of a hoop, that allowed riders to truly have their cake and eat it. They offered trackday levels of grip, touring security and wet weather performance that made them a favourite with a wide variety of riders.

To help build on the success of the M7, the M9 RR has been given a thorough going over, with improved full silica in the dual compound carcass, slick shoulders and faster warm-up. What’s not to like!

Before we hit the road’s around Ronda we took to the south circuit on the performance playground that is the Ascari Circuit. With the sprinklers in full effect, we were given a smattering of sports tourers with which to check out the wet grip in a controlled environment.

It became immediately clear that despite it’s sporty looking profile and sparse tread pattern contradicts the amount of grip the tyre has in the wet. For a supersports tyre to feel that planted and secure is extremely impressive indeed.

The south circuit at Ascari isn’t huge, probably about two-thirds the size of Mallory and similar in its layout. With wide sweeping turns you could really lean on the tyre mid-corner and on corner exit. It never failed to amaze me how stable and secure the tyre felt, you have knee-down levels of grip when streams of water are running over the track!

Without a doubt, the biggest positive from riding on the track in wet was the front end grip and stability under very hard braking. On the back straight hitting well over motorway speeds, we were slowing down to a 30mph chicane. Hard on the front brake, it was reassuring to feel how late the ABS would have to intervene, with the lever reaching the bar before it began to cut in.

Out on the roads around the circuit, the feeling from the M9 is that it’s a fast steering and plush feeling tyre. More stable than a bespoke trackday/road tyre but equal amounts of grip and feel on the sometimes sketchy Spanish blacktop.

With it’s do it all nature the new Metzeler Sportec M9 RR is likely to be a very fitting choice for riders who need year-round performance with enough clout for the odd trackday. While they won’t offer the same apex-hunting speeds a bespoke trackday or road tyre, they will offer more confidence in the wet, feel on the road and will almost certainly last a lot longer.

Pricing for the tyre is £251 per set, for more information on the new Sportec RR or to find your nearest dealer, head to: metzeler.com

Metzeler Sportec M9 RR specs