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The Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya will host the fourth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship over the weekend and will be the stage for an important debut for Pirelli: for the first time ever, the Italian tyre company has developed a solution in soft compound SC0 for the front wheel that can be used during the race weekend.
Up to now, the DIABLO Superbike had never had a SC0 compound in the range of front tyres but now Pirelli has decided to introduce and develop it during the season, to then make it a standard solution next year. The comparisons, started in Assen, between the standard SCX rear and the B0800 development SCX rear, and, in the WorldSSP class, between the current 120/70 size front and the larger 125/70 already used in WorldSBK will continue in Barcelona.
WorldSBK
- Front: in addition to the solutions already used since the beginning of the year, i.e. the medium SC1 and the hard SC2, in the quantity of 8 tyres per rider for each compound, for the first time the riders will also have a front SC0 available, a soft compound solution which should offer a high level of grip at the front- to balance the grip given by the softer solutions at the rear. The Barcelona circuit can be particularly demanding for the front because it is very technical, with wide and fast corners, straights, undulations and very sharp braking zones, such as first braking point after the long straight to the finish line.
- Rear: the solutions seen in action at Assen were confirmed, with the standard super soft SCX and the development SCX-A (specification B0800) to continue the direct comparison between the two options. To these two more are added- the soft SC0 and, only for the Superpole and Superpole Race, the extra soft SCQ.
WorldSSP
- At the front, the riders will continue to have two SC1 options available in different sizes: the standard one for the WorldSSP class in 120/70 and the one used by WorldSBK in 125/70, to evaluate a possible switch also for this class to the larger size after a first test carried out in Assen. The third and last solution is represented by the standard SC2. For the rear, the riders will be able to choose between the standard SCX and SC0, the latter being more protected in the event of low temperatures and high wear.
An SC0 to complete the new front range
“In Barcelona we will witness what, in its way, can be considered a historic debut in these 20 years of Pirelli in Superbike: for the first time ever, the WorldSBK riders will have a DIABLO Superbike in the soft SC0 compound available at the front. After expanding the range in the past seasons with the introduction of rear solutions in soft compounds, such as the SCX in 2020 and the SCQ in 2022, and having worked on the new front SC1 and SC2, we now decided it was time to complete the range also working on a front in soft SC0 compound with the aim to balance the high level of grip offered by the new soft solutions introduced for the rear wheel. The riders have already had the opportunity to test this new front solution, in specification B1148, in the winter tests and in those held in Barcelona at the end of March but this will be the first time ever that they will have it available in a race weekend. The goal, in line with our philosophy of making the tyres used in the World Superbike available to all motorcyclists, is to develop this SC0 during the season and then make it a standard solution, therefore purchasable on the market, in 2024”. |
