SBK | At Assen Pirelli plays it safe and confirms its choices for 2023

Superbike returns to the stage this weekend on the historic Assen circuit, known for its layout which makes it particularly demanding from both a physical and technical point of view. For this reason, Pirelli goes to the Dutch round confirming the choices made in 2023, which proved successful, without however putting development aside.

In the Netherlands, in fact, the sole tire supplier supplies a total of 65 tires for the Superbike class, 28 front and 37 rear. As regards the allocation of the front tires, Pirelli brings the SC1 and SC2 range solutions. For the rear, riders will be able to choose between the standard SCX and the development SCX in C0900 specification, the latter is new compared to last year, but has already been seen in the race in Barcelona.

Still remaining on the rear, Pirelli also confirms the SCQ, as usual, intended exclusively for the Superpole and the Superpole Race. Also present are the SCR1 intermediate and wet compounds both front and rear in case of adverse weather. At this time of year, it is not uncommon to find rainy days in Holland, with temperatures that can reach up to 4°C, as already happened in 2022.

Giorgio Barbier explains: “The characteristics of the track as well as the climatic conditions usually found in Assen are very different from those of Montmelò where we raced last month and this allows us to collect other useful data from a development perspective. Here we want to continue the work on the C0900, which in the last round gave good feedback in terms of grip and behavior but, given the aggressiveness of the Catalan asphalt, suffered a bit in terms of wear. On paper, Assen is a less abrasive and usually colder circuit; therefore, we expect to collect information that can give us a more complete picture of the potential of this solution. In past years the characteristics of the asphalt have allowed the use of fairly soft solutions despite the cold temperatures, consequently we think there is margin in the teams' work to find the ideal set up to exploit the options provided.”