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Pirelli will bring a mix of standard and development solutions to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola for Round 7 of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The development SCQ tyre returns to action during the Prometeon Italian Round as well as other development solutions for both the front and rear tyres as Pirelli continues to innovate and develop their products in WorldSBK.

DEVELOPMENT SCQ IS BACK: several rear solutions at Imola

After making its debut at Misano, the C0004 development SCQ-A compound returns to action at Imola to provide more consistency over the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race when compared to the standard SCQ using a new structure and compound. It is the only SCQ tyre available during the Italian Round with four sets for each rider to use, although the extra soft tyre cannot be used in Race 1 or Race 2. There are three other rear tyres available too with two from the standard range, the SCX super soft and SC0 soft, while there’s a development SCX-A super soft too with the B0800 spec; it made its debut in 2022 and has been used prominently throughout 2023.

FRONT TYRE SOLUTIONS: two standard, one development

Pirelli’s first-ever SC0 soft front compound is back as the Italian company continues development work on it, aiming to make it a standard tyre in 2024. Two standard solutions are also available. The SC1 medium is joined by the SC2 hard to give teams and riders plenty of choice when it comes to the front tyre. The SC1 is one of the most widely used tyres throughout the 2023 campaign while the SC2 made its debut last year and offers better mechanical resistance and greater wear protection when compared to the medium compound.

FRONT TYRE EXPERIMENTS CONTINUE: WorldSBK front tyre available in WorldSSP

As has been the case in 2023, Pirelli are continuing to evaluate whether the SC1 medium tyre from WorldSBK can be used in WorldSSP in the future. It’s once again available to the WorldSSP field along with the SC1 soft tyre, which is standard for the Championship. At the rear, riders will be able to use either the SCX super soft or SC0 soft compound tyres; both from the standard range.

PIRELLI SAYS: explaining the tyre allocation

Discussing the tyres available at Imola, Pirelli’s Motorcycle Racing Director, Giorgio Barbier, said: “We are back on a track we know well, and which has already hosted WorldSBK 17 times, the last one in 2019. Compared to Donington, the conditions will be very different: we expect much higher temperatures and a less aggressive asphalt, and this is why the allocation for Imola includes the front SC0 and the new SCQ in specification C0004 that we saw in action at Misano. On the front, we will therefore have the complete range, from the softer SC0 to the harder SC2, and we will be able to continue the work begun in Barcelona, and then continued in Misano, of verifying the performance of the new soft front.

“As for the rear solutions, the comparison between the standard SCX and the development one in specification B0800 continues, while in qualifying and in the Superpole Race the new SCQ will be put to the test again above all to understand its potential over the 10-lap duration of the short race. The goal with this new SCQ, as stated at the time, is to have a solution which, while maintaining remarkable peak performance, can easily cover the distance of the Superpole Race.”

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