SBK | The new Pirelli tires debut in Barcelona

The Superbike returns to action and does so on the Barcelona Circuit, where it also carried out preparation tests last week. The Catalan event opens the European season of the production-derived series, which take to the track this weekend to renew the fight for the title.

Pirelli is also ready for the second round of 2024 and, for the occasion, is debuting new tires that the riders already had the opportunity to test in the tests on Wednesday and Thursday. This is a solution for the front and one for the rear. In the first case, it is an evolution of the standard SC1 in C0516 specification which aims to offer greater stability. In the second case, it is the development of the B0800 development SCX which was used last year by pilots and which aims to increase stability and performance.

In addition to the new features, riders will be able to choose from the different options that Pirelli brings. In total, they will have 67 tyres, 31 at the front and 36 at the rear. As for the front, you can choose between the standard SC1 in medium compound, the new SC1-A (also in medium compound) and the harder SC2. As for the rear, the standard SCX in super soft compound is confirmed, alongside the new SCX-A. Also present is the standard soft SC0. As usual, the supply includes intermediate and wet tires in case of rain.

Giorgio Barbier, Racing Moto Director, states: “Barcelona is an ideal circuit for us to introduce new features, first of all because the race weekend arrives shortly after two days of testing on this very track; therefore, we already have some data available, and also because this is a fairly demanding track for the tires so it is an excellent proving ground to immediately understand if a solution has weak points. This year we are bringing two new tires with the aim of further improving performance and stability compared to the standard solutions.”

“The development front SC1 has already had good feedback both in the two tests carried out at the beginning of 2024 and in the one last week, and for this reason it was a natural choice to also propose it in the race allocation. We have less information on the new C0900 rear, only from last week's test, but it is a solution that follows in the footsteps of the B0800 introduced in 2022 and already widely used in 2023, we proposed it to the teams for the test on Thursday and Friday last and the feedback was positive, which is why we decided to include it in the allocation for the tender. High top speeds are reached on the Barcelona circuit and riders should benefit from the greater stability offered by these new options”, concludes the Pirelli Moto Racing Director.