For the first European round, WorldSBK riders will have two development solutions already tried in testing: an SC1 front and an SCX for the rear | ||
Following the two testing days on Thursday and Friday last week, the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, also known as Montmelò – from the name of the municipality in the province of Barcelona in which it is located, will host the second FIM Superbike World Championship round of the season, the first in Europe after the exciting Australian debut. The riders in the WorldSBK class will have two new tyres available, one at the front and one at the rear. In the first case, it is an evolution of the standard SC1 in specification C0516 and it has been developed by Pirelli with the aim of obtaining greater stability. To do this, with no variations in terms of compound, changes were made to the structure. The riders have already had the opportunity to try this tyre in early season tests, including those from last week on this circuit. As regards to the rear, the new innovation is a development SCX, more specifically an evolution of the B0800 which was widely used last year by riders. This new option differs in terms of both compound and structure: the C0900 specification, aimed at increasing stability and performance. This development ‘super soft’ made its debut in testing last week and is now also available for the actual races. Barcelona is well suited to introducing new tyres · Tyre allocation: in addition to the new tyres already mentioned above, WorldSBK riders will have standard SC1 and SC2 at the front and SCX and SC0 at the rear available, beside the SCQ exclusively intended for the Superpole and Superpole Race. The choice narrows in WorldSSP, where riders will be able to choose between SC1 and SC2 for the front and SCX and SC0 for the rear. · Lap times: In last week’s testing, WorldSBK riders consistently ran times in line with 2023 best race lap times, also beating the all-time lap record. If the weather conditions remain similar, it is likely that times will drop further during the race weekend, as track conditions improve and the teams finalise their setup. |