On arrival to the airport I see glorious sunshine and rising mercury so I start my transfer from Alicante to Cartagena admiring the local scenery as I go, the area in which I am due to stay is largely agricultural and looking around I see plenty of  back country roads, perfect for motorcycling and putting tyres to the test and the temperature double that of the UK - all is looking good. First up we have the briefing, an introduction to the Interact range for those of us who know little about it, I have previously tested the Z6 Interact from Metzeler (linked) so I have a decent understanding of the technology.

Interact is a new way of looking at the steel belt tension across various area's of the tyre for specific uses, we have all heard of dual compound tyres where the softness of the rubber is varied across the shoulders to enhance grip and hardened in the center for mileage, Interact works in a similar way but within the tyre carcass but by altering the tension of individual steel strings to promote movement which in turn creates friction and as a direct effect GRIP! The opposite is true where high mileage is required so the steel string is tightened to reduce movement and friction, clever stuff indeed.

One thing that stands out at the presentation is that all of the Metzeler people, from marketing, technical and design area's are passionate about motorcycles and all ride, this passion shines through when talking about their product and quite rightly so too. Having previously used the Z6 Interacts on my ZX636 I was keen to find out how they have improved the Roadtec Z8 Interact - their new version in this sector, during the presentation we are shown multiple heat charts to show where heat builds for each tyre and certain uses and footprint graphics which of course are very telling and display how the tread pattern and structure make a difference to the grip levels, initial impressions seem to show that the footprint is marginally larger but the heat distribution improved across the entire carcass.

Next up is the Sportec M5 Interact and from the outset this looks like it will be Metzeler's most important tyre of the range, with applications for faster road riding and an emphasis on grip the M5 takes over from the much lauded M3 and we are told is going to be fitted to bikes on the track and out on the road which show's just how confident Metzeler are in this tyre's ability. The final member of this trifecta is the Racetec K3 Interact, a tyre produced for fast riders and track day enthusiasts with the emphasis on it being a casual track tyre rather than for professional racing - they have other Racetec Interact products for that purpose but here they want to show the three street aimed products in a way we can compare.

The Interact Challenge starts for me in the morning at Cartagena Circuit and along with other UK and US journo's and dealers we get suited up, the second group takes the road bikes out and the plan is to switch at lunch so we are all keen to get as much track time as possible, unfortunately we had got the only rainy day in the whole of Spain (it seemed) and the track was damp and greasy so although we were going to have to take it a bit steady to start with it gave a really good benchmark to start on. My first choice is a GSX-R 600 shod with Sportec M5 tyres and after a warm up lap we are let loose for a session, my track experience is very little but even so I felt able to push the front end going in to bends from the outset, at one point I decided to get nervous and panic brake - lets face it, we have all done it - the result was a sharp dab on the front just coming up to a bend and although the bike shook a little it remained planted and inspired the confidence to let the bike and tyre do the work.

Session 2 was taken on a GSX-R 750 (not sure why I kept on picking the Suzuki's when I meant to try others) and the Racetec K3 Interact's, having had another heavy shower the previous session was cancelled due to the track being too greasy so by the time we got to go out we were chomping at the bit. off the line the K3 was obviously a different breed of rubber, with a bit of heat in the tyre though the additional grip was apparent along with the slight change in turn in speed in comparison to the M5, not that the K3 felt unstable but certainly more of a benefit to really fast road riders and out on track. The only thing that let these tyres down in my opinion was me - my lean angles were fine and banking right on to the edges of the tyre was no issue whatsoever but being mainly a road rider who does not shift weight around I was not able to attack corners as quickly as some of the other guys.

The third and final session for me was on yet another Suzuki, this time the GSX-R 1000 and back to the Sportec M5 Interact's, we were warned to watch out for the differences when stepping down from the K3 to M5 particularly in grip so I was expecting a bit of a wilder ride with the big Gixxer, in actuality the M5 at my riding level was perfect and although the initial grip is indeed reduced the tyre was more than adequate to get all the power down and lean as far as I dare. In all honesty I think that the combination of the GSX-R1000 and the M5 gave me my most comfortable session on track but that could I suppose be down to having a bit of experience of the circuit at this stage.

Lunchtime came and went and along with it the change from track bikes to Metzeler's selection of road machines, shod in Z8 and M5 Interact tyres I decided that the BMW S1000 RR was to be my ride and with it another set of M5's so I could see the difference in a setting i was more used to. The mountain roads around Cartagena offer some stunning bends and mainly blind with cliff walls and drops on each side, the Beemer behaved impeccably and allowed me the opportunity to have some fun, I can see why this is Metzeler's most important tyre as it is just superb for fast road riding and is ideal for all tyres of machine with it's high level of grip and stability we got a real push on through roads none of us knew. For me, a good tyre is one you never really think about, never question it is going to keep you shiny side up and will always have a bit left in reserve for when you are a bit 'ambitious', the M5 is that tyre and consequently I have a set under my desk, awaiting fitting to my own bike.

Finally, I grabbed the opportunity to ride the new Triumph Speed Triple with Z8's fitted, again we tore through a twisty mountain section on the way back to base and the tyres behaved rather well, the grip of the M5 is not there at the highest speed and we did come across a really wet area which was incredibly slippery at which point the Z8 let go slightly, this happened in a really controlled way and just made the ride a bit more fun rather than making me nervous or fearful. Imagine riding across a diesel patch in the wet and this would have been my comparison to the condition of the road at that point. Unfortunately we didn't do the mileage on the Z8 for me to be able to report on it's longevity but the Z6 I previously tested lasted well beyond my expectation and I would hazard a guess and say the Z8 Interact would offer a similar mileage.

All in all it has been invaluable to be able to test these three tyres in different settings but back to back, if you are a rider who looks for higher mileage and/or rides in colder conditions you have the Roadtec Z8 Interact, typical road riders, supersports, fast sports tourers and those wanting maximum grip and stability should really look at the Sportec M5 Interact and finally those of you who ride really fast on the road or happen to like the odd trackday will find a superb tyre in the Racetec K3 Interact, one thing is for sure though and that is that Metzeler makes a very good range of tyres and Interact Technology does exactly what they hoped it would.

Have a look at Metzeler's blog over at: http://www.ridexperience.com/