Pirelli continues with development tyres at Italian World Superbike
Despite the Cremona Circuit being new to WorldSBK, Pirelli is taking development tyres to the circuit for this weekend’s Italian Round.
Pirelli will use two development tyres at this weekend’s WorldSBK Italian Round, both of which have been previously used.
The two development tyres both made their debut at a WorldSBK round at Magny-Cours two weeks ago. They are a dry front SC1 in D0715 specification, and a dry SCX rear in D0820 specification.
The development SC1 front has a different construction compared to the standard version, and the development SCX rear has a different compound compared to standard.
Despite Cremona being a new addition to the WorldSBK calendar, Pirelli Motorcycle Racing Director Giorgio Barbier says it provides “a great opportunity” to continue understanding and evaluating the new tyres.
"The Cremona round is a great opportunity to get further feedback on the two development solutions introduced at Magny-Cours — the front SC1 in D0715 specification and the rear SCX in D0820 specification — taking advantage of the fact that the riders still have the sensations they had in France and can put them to the test on a different track,” Barbier said.
“Such a close comparison is very useful for us to consolidate data on new solutions and define future development. Having received positive feedback from the riders at their first contact with the new options, we also felt it was important to give the teams some continuity, so as to offer them a good choice on a circuit that has some unknowns.”
Focussing more specifically on the Cremona Circuit itself, Barbier reflected on the tests carried out at the Italian venue earlier this year.
“Cremona is in fact a circuit that we know well, if only because it is located an hour's drive from our headquarters in Milan,” Barbier said, “but we have never raced there with the Superbikes of the World Championship and, in preparation for this important event, it has undergone considerable improvements.
“Already in the two tests that were carried out, one in mid-May and the other in mid-June, we found that the track, as often happens in these cases, still needs a bit of break-in to reach the optimal level of grip.
“This means that in the first sessions we could witness accentuated wear and tear that will then fall within the parameters we are used to over the weekend, as the track cleans and rubbers."