Pirelli at the starting blocks for the 2016 motorcycle race season

Additions to the DIABLO™ Superbike slick racing tires, now available in the new SC3 compound

The iconic brand confirms its undisputed leading status in the world of two-wheel racing, with its participation in 110 championships over five continents, including the Superbike World Championship, Motocross and Endurance, Monster Energy Supercross and British Superbike

The new SC3 joins the existing range of compounds for riders to choose from for both front and rear and has been developed for endurance competition and situations in which good resistance and lasting performance are needed

MILAN (Italy) – Pirelli has its sights set on maintaining status as the undisputed star at the highest level of national and international competitions. From Phillip Island, to the desert sands and US stadiums, via some of the most fascinating locations and tracks in the world, the iconic brand will be participating in 110 different motorcycle championships over five continents. They will serve as the sole tire supplier in thirty-four of them, while they will compete head-to-head against multiple tire manufacturers in the other seventy-six.

Ranking among the most important, include Superbike, Motocross and Endurance World Championships, AMA Supercross Championship and MCE British Superbike, as well as numerous national and local championships, in both on and off-road. Pirelli has been involved in these championships for several years, staying true to the company’s competitive spirit in distinguishing their characteristics.

As a glaring example of Pirelli’s full circle commitment to competition, the tire manufacturers’ motorsports team will be competing on the weekend of February 27-28 at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. It will mark the first date of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the eighth round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and lastly the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Losail, which is located just outside of the capital of Qatar.

The most important change for 2016 is Pirelli’s introduction of a new compound to the DIABLO™ Superbike slick range of tires. This will beused in World Superbike and available for the Superbike classes of national championships and road racing competitions. The all-new SC3 solution will be available for the front and the rear, adding to the existing range as the hardest solution available, while being specifically developed for endurance races and situations where resistance and lasting performance is needed. This means that besides being used in the FIM Endurance World Championship, this compound could also occasionally appear in action at the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, but only as a front option given the length of the race. A hard, resistant solution would be superfluous for the rear wheel and unlikely to be chosen by riders completing relatively few kilometers at maximum performance.

Race dates for 2016

Pirelli began its season in two-wheel competition at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, which held the first round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. Supercross is one of the most popular forms of racing in the United States, filling entire stadiums with fans and their families. Pirelli is also the official motorcycle tire sponsor for the three-year period of 2014-2016.

The weekend of February 27-28 will mark the season debut of the FIM Superbike World Championship and FIM Motocross World Championship at Phillip Island and Losail, respectively. Pirelli racers will showcase their wide-range of motorcycle racing tires for road racing and off-road.

This year Pirelli will also be the sole tire supplier and in some situations open-competition, while competing at the most important events on the national and international level. These events include the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the FIM Motocross World Championship, the FIM Endurance World Championship, Monster Energy AMA Supercross (a FIM World Championship), the MCE British Superbike Championship, Italian Speed Championship, German IDM Championship and French Superbike series.

For Pirelli, these events play a crucial role in developing and testing tires with some of the best riders in the world, who use the same tires that become marketed and supplied to motorcyclists all over the world.

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, organized by Dorna is a strong example of how important racing is to Pirelli’s R&D platform. Pirelli has been the sole official tire supplier for all classes of the FIM Superbike World Championship since 2004, and will continue thru 2018. This is a record in the history of motorsports, ultimately making Pirelli the longest running sole tire supplier at an international level.

Unlike other championships where prototype tires are used, Pirelli’s philosophy from the beginning has been focused on using their supported racers to design tires that can be used for the general public. This is where the now-famous motto “We sell what we race, we race what we sell” stems from and the creation of the DIABLO™ range with historic tires like the DIABLO™ Superbike, DIABLO™ Supercorsa SC, Supersport, Superstock 1000, Superstock 600 and European Junior Cup classes.

As focus shifts to premier off-road competition, the FIM Motocross World Championship presented by Youthstream, Pirelli once again stars as the official tire supplier. The Italian company boasts a record 64 world titles achieved with the SCORPON™MX tire lineup. Leading the way isthe legendary SCORPION™ MX32™. In 2016, Pirelli will be supporting the most successful athletes on the circuit, such as eight-time World Champion Tony Cairoli, two-time MX2 champion Jeffrey Herlings, defending MX1 champion Romain Febvre, Jordi Tixier, Kevin Strijbos, Max Nagl, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Glen Coldenhoff and many others.

The FIM Endurance World Championship starts on April 8 in France on the legendary circuit of Le Mans. The circuit is a place where Pirelli has secured four wins in the past five years during the Le Mans Moto 24 Hours.

The Endurance is an extreme and exciting championship, testing riders and teams to the limit in terms of concentration and stress. On June 24, it will be the turn of the Portimão 12 Hours in Portugal, while on July 29 the attention of motorcycle fans will be focused on the Land of the Rising Sun, where the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours will take place. The Championship will end with the 8 Hours of Oscherleben in Germany at the end of August. The 2017 Bol d’Or championship season will now start on the Paul Ricard circuit of Le Castellet on the weekend of September 17-18, a competition that Pirelli has dominated the past four years.

Numerous competitions are Pirelli affiliated at the national level, both as sole tire supplier and in open competition. In the UK, Pirelli has been the Presenting Sponsor and Sole Tire supplier since 2008 in the MCE British Superbike category, and it will continue to be until 2020. The riders of the British national series will hit the track for the first round at the Silverstone circuit on the weekend of April 8-10.

Pirelli is pleased to confirm its important position in the IDM (German National Championship), France Superbike FSBK (French National Championship), CIV (Italian Speed Championship), Superbike Series Brazil, South African Stock 1000 Cup, and Malaysia and in the Philippines with the Superbike Series. The R125 Cup in Holland, as well as the Belgian, Czech, Polish, Austrian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, Bulgarian, Rumanian, Serbian and New Zealand championships and in the Alpe Adria Championship and East European Championship. Last year Pirelli became the sole supplier in Japan’s Pirelli Cup 600 Challenge Series.

Throughout the European Championships, Pirelli has an aggressive presence and can be found on 70 precent of all bikes lined up on the starting grid. The ever-growing popularity of the Italian tire brand sits at an all-time high across the world.

The racing series: the DIABLO™ for road racing competition

Pirelli’s road racing tire series designed for use on the track and in road racing competition consists of four products from the DIABLO™ range:

· DIABLO™ Superbike: is the top of the range product for the racing series, a slick NHS (abbreviation of “Not for Highway Service”) tire, that gives maximum performance by choosing the best compound for the current condition It is used for example in the Superbike class of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and the FIM Endurance World Championship as well as in national championships.

· DIABLO™ Supercorsa SC: unlike DIABLO™ Superbike this tire is DOT approved and available in different compounds. It’s for Supersport and Superstock classes where the class requires that the tire is very similar to a street product. DIABLO™ Rain: the benchmark wet tire for all classes and championships. With a grooved tread, it’s the ideal solution in conditions of heavy rain or on wet surfaces. The compound used for this product guarantees maximum traction in the wet both at cold temperatures and at medium-hot temperatures.

· DIABLO™ Wet: an intermediate solution between the dry tire and DIABLO™ Rain. This tire has a pattern with a smaller number of grooves than the wet tire and a compound halfway between a slick and a rain tire, which enables it to work well in surface conditions that are still wet or in conditions of drying asphalt with already dry lines.

Focus on the new DIABLO™ Superbike SC3 compound

The new SC3 solution, available for the front and the rear is the longest lasting of those present in the Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike 2016 range. This solution was developed after years of experience acquired in the FIM Endurance World Championship and from the many victories in competitions such as Le Mans 24 Hours or the Bol d’Or. It is designed for endurance racing but also for track day riders, which a high level of wear resistance and long lasting performance is needed.

When compared to the SC2 rear, which is similar in characteristics, the SC3 offers greater durability and more constant performance in all ranges of use, at the cost of outright lap times. On the front, the SC3 is versatile and offers constant performance. Compared to an SC1 it offers longer mileage but at the cost of grip and lap times, while if compared to the SC2 it continues to offers better mileage. The new SC3 is an excellent solution for endurance competition and track day riders and for example, Northern Europe Championships, where these new tires are less likely to tear with the cold During the year it will also be appearing in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship but only as a front option: the circuits the World Championship are raced on, the length of the races and the temperatures normally encountered on these occasions do not in fact make it a valid solution for the rear where, in almost all cases, riders prefer the higher performance SC0.

DIABLO™ Superbike: the compounds and their use

There are five DIABLO™ Superbike rear compounds, including the solution used during the Superpole in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, which is not however available for sale on the market.

There are three, equally important basic criteria for choosing one compound as opposed to another:

1) The type of tarmac

2) The temperature of the asphalt

3) The duration of performance required

These are the rear solutions with corresponding features and range of use:

· SUPERPOLE – Super Soft: The DIABLO™ Superbike Superpole, unlike the other tires is not for sale on the market and is used only by the riders of the Superbike World Championship to get the best starting grid position during the second session of Superpole held on the Saturday. This solution has a very soft and therefore high-performance compound with good grip, able to guarantee a practically immediate warm-up and maximum performance permitting a full lap at maximum performance after the starting lap.

· SC0 – Soft: This solution has a soft compound, ideal for tackling smooth asphalt and high temperatures. It is by far the most widely used rear solution in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. It offers maximum tread contact on smooth asphalt and maximum traction development at high temperatures as well as higher resistance to thermal performance decay.

· SC1 – Medium: This option offers a medium-hardness compound, which places it halfway between the soft and the hard solutions. It is the most popular solution when, perhaps on account of it being too cold or the asphalt being particularly abrasive, the SC0 can’t be used.

· SC2 – Hard: Until last year this was the hardest solution in the range. It’s used mainly in national championships, where the asphalt is hard and/or abrasive or where external temperatures are low. Thanks to its characteristics the hard compound is capable of ensuring excellent resistance to cold tearing (i.e. tearing of the rubber of the tread strip) and to wear.

· SC3 – Super Hard: This is the new entry for 2016 and the out-and-out sturdiest solution of the range. Developed above all for endurance activities it can however be used in all national championships where a compound particularly resistant both to abrasive asphalt and/or to low temperatures is needed.

There are three front compounds of the DIABLO™ Superbike but the criteria for use are not the same as those used to choose the rear compounds. In this case as well as the temperature and hardness of the asphalt, it’s important to bear in mind the layout of the track, and above all the rider’s driving style. Generally speaking, however, when the temperature of the track increases the compound tends to become less compact and lose rigidity, sometimes causing problems of movement when leaning. In this case it’s advisable to use a harder compound such as the SC2.

On the other hand, when the track is cold, the compound tends to become more rigid and this leads to less grip with possible under-steering and decreased stability while braking. In these conditions it is better to use a soft compound such as SC1.

These are the front solutions with corresponding features and range of use:

· SC1 – Soft: Is the softest front compound developed for low outdoor temperatures and medium-severe circuits: it maximizes tread contact and the “presence” of the front tire. This is the solution preferred by riders who want a predictable tire able to let them know directly when they are about to reach the grip limit. It is generally preferred to the SC2 on circuits with significant depressions since it ensures the absorption of shock and vibrations (chattering).

· SC2 – Medium: This is the medium hardness compound, the best for high temperatures since it guarantees solidity in the tread. This is the solution that more aggressive riders opt for, with a compact tread strip as well as greater solidity, stability and precision when driving and entering curves.

· SC3 – Hard: New for 2016. Compared to the two previous solutions it certainly offers a higher mileage while remaining versatile. This could prove the best solution for the front tire on particularly demanding circuits.