Pirelli at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari of Imola for the fifth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship followed by the Pirelli SBK® Track Day on Monday, May 2

The brand of the elongated P relies almost exclusively on standard tyres for the first Italian round of the production derived series and organizes the third Pirelli SBK^® Track Day of the season on Monday following the weekend’s races

Imola (Italy), 26 April 2016 – In the coming weekend the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship arrives in Italy, to be precise at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari of Imola, which will host the fifth round of the production derived series for the fourteenth time. Then on Monday May 2, bikers loving the the brand of the elongated P will guest star at the Pirelli SBK^® Track Day, the third of the 2016 season after those of Buriram, Thailand, and Assen, Netherlands.

As regards to the race solutions, both SBK^® and WorldSSP riders will have different solutions available, most of these will be standard options, which means tyres available for purchase by any motorcyclist at Pirelli retailers.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo and Dino Ferrari is located in the Municipality of Imola, named after Enzo Ferrari, founder of the car manufacturer by the same name, and his son Dino. The Imola track, set up for motorcycle racing, is a 4936 metre long circuit with 9 right hand turns and 13 left handers and is one of the few tracks that runs anti-clockwise. The width of the track goes from a maximum of 15 metres to a minimum of 10 metres with a maximum downhill slope of 9.10% between the Piratella and Acque Minerali turns and a maximum uphill slope of 9.38% between the Acque Minerali and Variante Alta turns.

The turn radii goes from a minimum of 11 metres to a maximum of 94, the finish stretch is 350 metres long and the rider that starts from pole position lines up on the left.

In the summer of 2009 the New Variante Bassa was created, needed to meet the approval requirements of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM). This operation, intended to neutralise the slight right hand lean characteristic of car tracks, is located in front of pit lane.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo and Dino Ferrari is recognised all over the world as a rather technical and difficult track with complex turns and braking sections, and it is raced at a fast pace demanding excellent riding skills.

With the repaving of about 70% of the surface in August 2011, the track reacquired a good level of mechanical grip which had been compromised for some time before that. This, however, also significantly increased the aggressiveness on the rear tyres, especially in medium-low temperatures. In this case riders will use SC1 rear solutions. If the high temperatures completely smooth out the severity of the track the SC0 blend can be used to meet all grip needs.

As for the front tyres, the Imola circuit leaves quite a bit of room for the riders' taste and riding style. With an extremely technical layout made up of straight stretches with decisive, downhill braking sections, chicanes and turns, generally the front tyre selection is always a mixture, without any significant critical issues for soft or more robust front tyres. With high temperatures there is often a tendency toward greater support from the front tyre, leading to a race choice of more rigid solutions like the SC2 or SC3 options.

The solutions for the Superbike and Supersport classes

Pirelli will bring to Imola a total of 4602 tyres designed to meet the needs of riders of all classes of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The uncertain weather could envisage wet races, in which case the riders will use full wet DIABLO™ RAIN tyres or intermediate DIABLO™ WET tyres.

If it does not rain, as regards the SBK^® class slick DIABLO™ Superbike tyres will be present in three different solutions for the front and as many for the rear, in addition to the rear qualifier tyre that can only be used by riders who access the second Superpole session on Saturday.

At the front at the disposal of the riders there is a development solution and two standard tyres. The development solution is the SC1 S1699, widely used and appreciated by the riders already in the first rounds of this year as well as being the most used option at the front in 2015. With regard to the standard solutions, tyres regularly for sale in the market, there will be the SC2, medium hardness option and optimum for high outside temperatures because it provides resistance to tread. Also, the  new SC3, the harder front of the 2016 range, which made its debut in the Assen round and which offers a compound particularly resistant both to abrasive asphalt and/or to low temperatures.

For the rear as well there is one development solution and two standard tyres. The development solution is an old acquaintance of the riders, the SC0 T0611, which debuted last year at Imola and was taken then also to Portimão, Misano, Laguna Seca, Sepang, Jerez, Magny-Cours and Losail. This solution uses a very soft compound able to offer a very high level of grip when used with high temperatures. Alternatively, the riders may use the standard SC0 and, in case of lower temperatures, the standard SC1.

In WorldSSP at the front Pirelli provides both the standard SC1 and SC2 that will once again joined by the SC1 S1485, a development solution which should offer more support in the approach to bends in favor of a better steering precision.

For the rear there are two standard solutions. The SC0, soft solution of the 2016 range at its debut this year and perfect to face smooth asphalts and high temperatures because it offers the maximum for tackling smooth asphalt and high temperatures. It offers maximum tread contact on smooth asphalt and maximum traction development at high temperatures as well as higher resistance to thermal performance decay. The SC1, a medium-hardness compound option 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. It was available also in the first four rounds.

The 2015 Pirelli statistics for Imola

• Total number of tyres Pirelli brought: 4552

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 6 rear

• Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 34 front and 34 rear

• Number of solutions for the Supersport class (dry, intermediate and wet): 4 front and 4 rear

• Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider: 22 front and 21 rear

• Superbike Best Lap Awards won by: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), 1'46.707 (Race 1, 5^th lap) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), 1'47.198 (Race 2, 12^th lap)

• Supersport Best Lap Award won by: Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), 1’51.101 (16^th lap)

• Temperature in Race 1: air 24° C, asphalt 38° C

• Temperature in Race 2: air 26° C, asphalt 46° C

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 285.3 km/h, in Race 1 byChaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team) at 4^th lap

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa SC tyres in Supersport race: 253.1 km/h by Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) at 10^th lap and by Kyle Smith (PATA Honda World Supersport Team) at 3^rd lap.