For the sixth round of the WorldSBK championship in Donington Park Pirelli confirms the available solutions, already seen in action in Imola

On British soil, the Milanese brand will be looking to repeat the excellent performances proved by the new solutions deployed in the last round, plus a new rear development tyre, for wet weather

Castle Donington (United Kingdom), 22 May 2017- Less than two weeks after the last round which took place in Imola and which witnessed Ducati triumphing with a spectacular double victory with Chaz Davies, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to Donington Park, UK, for the sixth seasonal round from 26-28 May.
 
For this round Pirelli has decided to bring the same WorldSBK class solutions already seen in action in Imola, specifically to verify the good performances proved by some of the development solutions, such as, for example, the SC1 V0952 front and the SC0 V0602 rear, which were used by the riders during the Italian round.
Moreover, considering the particularly variable climate of this area, riders competing in the top class will have the chance to rely, in case of rain, on a new rear wet tyre, in addition to the standard one.
For WorldSSP riders the news will be a new SC1 development tyre for the front, the V1267 specification, featuring the same compound as the standard SC1 but with a different manufacturing process.
 
The temperatures, together with the particular weather conditions, represent one of the main challenges of the Donington Park track. Unpredutable weather means it could be warm, cold, wet or dry in the UK at this time so riders may need soft compounds, more protected slick tyres in order to prevent tearing and excessive wear or even wet tyres.
 
Located in the East Midlands, about 180 kilometres north-west of London, the British track was inaugurated in 1931 with the intention to host the first motorcycle races. In the currently used layout it features an overall length of 4023 metres with 7 right-hand turns and 5 left handers, it runs clockwise with a maximum slope of 8% and the finishing straight measuring 550 metres.
Known in the UK as “The Heart of British Motorcycling”, it provides a mixed track, characterized by several changes of elevation and some slow turns alternated to straights needing to heavy braking and sudden accelerations (as in the Melbourne Hairpin).
 
Amongst the most interesting sections of the track there are the two intermediate turns which break up the straight opposite the finish line (Old Hairpin and McLeans Corner): both appear tight like a hairpin, but fast as a long turn, with speeds above 100 km/h. Riders that keep up their speed and go through these turns smoothly, can benefit greatly and save valuable ‘tenths’.
Nevertheless, compared to other tracks in the calendar, the British track is not characterized by particularly high speeds: in the fastest section the maximum speed is just over 270 km/h, whereas the average speed settles down to 160 km/h.
Due to the particular weather conditions of the area, the tyres are usually found to work with low surface temperatures, ranging from a maximum of 110° to a minimum of 50°
 
Furthermore, this track requires high flexibility of the tyres: in the first part of the track, where a good stability of the front is crucial, the front tyre must be able to maintain its shape providing the necessary support to go through the downhill corners; the rear tyre, on the other hand, is particularly challenged by sudden acceleration.
 
With cold temperatures the tread compound, in particular the soft ones, cannot easily reach the correct operating temperatures and, due to high rigidity, may suffer in the opening throttle phase superficial lacerations and tearing. In these cases, it is recommended to use mechanically strong rear solutions, as the ones in the SC1 compound.
Such effect of wear from tearing tends to decrease with higher temperatures but, in these conditions, a significant decrease of the grip naturally provided by the asphalt occurs as well.
 
 
Pirelli’s solutions for WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes
 
For the British round Pirelli will be bringing a total of 4815 tyres in order to meet the needs of the riders of all four classes of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. In fact, as opposed to the Superstock 1000 and WorldSSP300 class which, over the year, are always using the same standard solutions, in WorldSBK and WorldSSP class riders have available at least two solutions for the front and two for the rear.
Moreover, in addition to the dry tyres, all classes can always rely on rain tyres in case of bad weather. Furthermore, for this round, only the WorldSBK class will have available, in addition to the standard one, a new rear rain tyre, which, compared to the standard 190/60 solution, will be available in 200/60 sizes, which is the same size used for the dry tyres.
 
For the WorldSBK class Pirelli is thus confirming the eight slick solutions, five for the front and three for the rear, already brought to Imola for the last round.
For the front, riders will again have the complete range available with the soft SC1, the medium SC2 and the hard SC3, in addition to the two SC1 development solutions: the V0952, featuring the same compound as the standard SC1 but with different structural solutions and which has been the most used front solution for Imola’s Race 2. The V1271, already tried by the riders for the first time ever during the official testing session in Motorland Aragón, and afterwards used in Assen and Imola.
For the rear, as in Imola, the standard soft SC0 and the new development V0602 solution will also be available. Such a solution has been used by a good number of riders during the Italian round, especially in Race 1, but it needs to be tested on different tracks in order to understand its real potential. As a third option, particularly in case of low temperatures typical of the early morning, the V1199 solution will also be available, featuring a SC1 compound with particular structural characteristics.
 
However, there will still be some differences compared to Imola’s round concerning the five dry solutions available for the WorldSSP class. For the front, in addition to the standard SC1 and SC2, there will be a new development solution available, the V1267, featuring the same compound as the standard SC1 but with a different manufacturing process.
For the rear, the riders will have the chance to choose between the standard SC0 and the V0705 development SC1, a development solution in SC1 compound, alternative to the standard SC1, tried by the riders for the first time ever on the Lausitzring circuit in 2016. It was also present this year in Motorland Aragón, for the first European round of the season.
 
 
Pirelli’s 2016 statistics for Donington Park
 
• Total number of tyres Pirelli brought: 4356
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 6 front and 6 rear
 
• Number of tyres available for each WorldSBK rider: 37 front and 33 rear
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSSP class: 4 front and 4 rear
 
• Number of tyres available for each WorldSSP rider: 21 front and 21 rear
 
• Superbike Best Lap Awards won both by: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)in 1'27.988 (Race 1, 5^th lap) and in 1'27.605 (Race 2, 2^nd lap)
 
• Supersport Best Lap Awards won by: Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda), in 1'30.887 at the 11^th lap
 
• Temperature in Race 1: air 17° C, asphalt 33° C
 
• Temperature in Race 2: air 15° C, asphalt 27° C
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 274.1 km/h, by Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) at 5^th lap in Race 2
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 247.1 km/h, by Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia) at the 3^rd lap.