Pirelli Starts Out On Its Fourth Stage In WSBK Milan, 22 February 2007 The World Superbike Championship is about to start again, with a huge amount of focus on the series, and once more Pirelli is ready to accept the challenge. For the three previous seasons Pirelli has been the official tyre supplier to SBK and its diverse support classes, and during that time Pirelli has never stopped in its efforts to make improvements in the performance of its products. In 2006 SBK was introduced to the ways of a new tyre at the start of the season, DIABLO SUPERBIKE, which from the very beginning of its life has improved on the records from previous years, repeated that feat at all the circuits, race after race, while Pirelli’s development teams brought forward new specs of tyres during a process of continuous development; a process that leads to constant and practical improvements in its final products. A few months later, at Misano, the Supersport class also featured a new product. and that was how the DIABLO SUPERCORSA made its appearance – first in the paddock – and then in the record books. Together with these two classes, the 1000cc FIM Superstock CUP machines come equipped with DRAGON SUPERCORSA (in SC2 compound), while the young pilots of the European Superstock 600cc category used DIABLO CORSAIII street rubber, from the sport side of the spectrum. Pirelli is always careful put the needs and desires of the racers in a position of importance, not just the wants of the market, and above all it does not forget the final user – the motorcyclist who expects to be able to make use of the performance that Pirelli demonstrates in SBK. For this reason Pirelli competes with the same products that it offers to its consumers, whether for single use on the track (such as the SBK slick) or those homologated for street use. After a season-long ‘test’, the DIABLO SUPERCORSA has demonstrated that it is the reference product for the class. It is also very much a street legal tyre, which will once again be present in the paddock through the coming season. The Superstock classes have shown a great level of competitiveness in the past, and the Superstock 600, above all, has demonstrated that it is a true feeder class for the bigger categories. In order to allow the three ‘treaded’ categories to run the same type of tyre, the Supestock 600 class will now also run DIABLO SUPERCORSA. For Pirelli to compete means to innovate, to develop, and Pirelli has interpreted its role of official supplier in just this way when it came to this decision. In Supersport, tyres will be developed to enable a choice from a predetermined list of options, which changes through the development process, allowing the rider to choose the best ones for each particular set of circumstances on any weekend. For the big Superstock class, there will only be one choice of tyre on offer, but that particular tyre compound will change race-to-race, based on previous experience at those circuits. This allows the riders to have the best tyre available and also to use different tyres throughout the season, to help them understand how each particular set of tyres work. Just like the final customer on the street, the choice will come from a range of four DIABLO SUPERCORSA “SC” compounds. The pilots of Superstock 600 will use the Pirelli DIABLO SUPERCORSA in an SC2 compound all season. This ‘refresh’ for the tyre choice in this particular class is dictated mainly from the will of Pirelli, on one side, to offer the best technical solution possibile, and from the other side it allows the Superstock 600 riders to make a more competitive approach when they graduate to the Supersport category – as they will already have experience of the same type of tyres used in Supersport. Once again Pirelli will help to deliver a season of great emotions and great competitiveness in all the categories, while its customers will once again see the benefit of the Pirelli philosophy: develop the best tyres available on the racetrack and then deliver them for sale through normal retailers.