WorldSBK in Misano: three novelties for Pirelli and debut in the Women’s World Championship

Pirelli is the Event Main Sponsor of the fourth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, which will take place over the weekend at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Misano Adriatico and for which the occasion is renamed the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round. This is an important weekend for the Italian tyre company having decided to debut three new tyres: two for the WorldSBK class and one for the WorldSSP.

In addition, Pirelli will be alongside the young female riders of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, who will race the first ever round of this competition in Misano, for which Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier.

Giorgio Barbier - Motorcycle Racing Director

Some new solutions and a new commitment in the Women’s World Championship

“For the Italian round, we decided to debut some innovations in line with our philosophy of continuous development of new solutions to improve the range year after year. For the WorldSBK class, we are continuing the work on the SCX at the rear to improve its corner speed and protection from wear, while preserving the grip performance at maximum lean that the standard solution already offers. On the front we are working in both classes to evolve the SC1 specification towards greater support in terms of stability and precision. We know the Misano circuit well, therefore for us it is the ideal ground for making data comparisons. Starting from this round we will also be engaged in another beautiful adventure, the one that will see us alongside the girls of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship for which we will be the sole tyre supplier. We enthusiastically embraced this initiative because we share its values ​​of inclusion and openness. The riders have already done a test in Cremona a couple of weeks ago, where they started to become familiar with the SC1 compounds they have allocated for the front and rear. Now, it’s the time for their official debut in race: I send them all my best wishes for this first season!”

Keep An Eye On

· WorldSBK novelties: Pirelli will make available a new SC1 tyre with D0279 specification for the front, which maintains the compound of the standard SC1 but features a different carcass designed to give greater stability and precision. For the rear, is the SCX with D0339 specification, which differs from the standard option both in carcass and compound, to maintain the level of grip that it already offers at maximum lean angle while increasing traction and speed when cornering and offering greater protection against wear. Beside the novelties, there will be the standard SC1 and SC2 solutions at the front and SCX and SC0 at the rear, in addition to the SCQ exclusively intended for use in Superpole and Superpole Race. 

· WorldSSP novelties: the development solution for the riders is the SC1 with D0444 specification, a front tyre that maintains the compound of the standard SC1 but differs in the carcass, aimed at offering greater stability and precision. This joins the SC1 and SC2 options for the front and SCX and SC0 for the rear.

· FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship: 24 women riders, coming from 18 nations, will take part in the first ever edition of the Championship, also known as WorldWCR. The bikes will be equipped with Pirelli DIABLO Superbike tyres measuring 120/70 R17 front and 180/60 R17 rear, both in SC1 compound. Each rider will have three front and three rear tyres available for each weekend. In case of rain, the tyres available will be the DIABLO Rain in SCR1 compound, with the same size as the slicks at the front but 200/60 R17 at the rear.

· The track: 4226 meters long, 12 meters wide and with a 430 meter straight, the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” has 16 corners, 10 on the right and 6 on the left. There are three tight turns that require vigorous braking and stability of the front, to attempt overtaking maneuvers: 1, 8 and 16. The latter presents a further pitfall: it’s a left turn that arrives after a sequence of corners all on the right; therefore, in the case of cold asphalt, managing the tyre temperature is crucial. The first part of the circuit, up to turn 6, is mixed and narrow and the corners are taken at very low speed and with significant lean angles: here the “edge” grip is very important. From 8 to 12 it is a succession of accentuated leans at considerable speeds, where the riders’ ability to make the most of the performance offered by the tyres emerges.

Further details on tyre allocation are available in the technical sheets attached to this press release.