The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship hits Donington Park for Round 5 of the season and Pirelli have unveiled their tyre allocation for the Prosecco DOC UK Round. The Italian manufacturer have opted for an all-standard set of tyres this weekend, at both the front and rear, at a track that can be very demanding on tyres especially after last year’s resurfacing.

NO DEVELOPMENT TYRES: standard front solutions

Pirelli often opt to bring development solutions to rounds as they enhance and innovate but the UK Round is different with only standard solutions available. At the front, the tyres available are the standard SC1 medium and SC2 hard on a track that has everything: fast and flowing corners as well as hard braking areas and slow hairpins. Following on from last year’s resurfacing, Pirelli have opted to bring the harder front tyres to Donington.

REAR TYRE CHOICES: softer options available

At the rear, Pirelli have again brought only standard solutions but this time from the softer end of the range. The SCX super soft and SC0 soft will be the tyres available in all races, although the SC0 was the tyre of choice last year in longer races. The SCQ extra soft tyre is also at Donington, although its use is limited to Free Practice sessions, the Tissot Superpole session and the Tissot Superpole Race.

WORLD SUPERSPORT TYRES: development front soft in the UK

Pirelli’s record of bringing new tyres extends to WorldSSP and that continues at Donington with the SC1-A development soft compound tyre. It’s designed to offer greater stability and precision compared to the standard SC1 soft, which is also available for riders to pick. There is also the option of the standard SC2 medium, while at the rear, it’s a choice between the standard SCX super soft and SC0 soft tyres.

PIRELLI SAYS: “We don’t rule out the possibility that we might see the SCX in action, more likely in the Superpole Race…”

Discussing the tyre allocation, Pirelli’s Motorcycle Racing Director, Giorgio Barbier, said: “In 2023 we raced at Donington, for the first time in two decades, on a new asphalt that offers more grip and a more even surface, but at the same time, also being more abrasive. Given these characteristics, the rear standard SC0 was the key choice for success in both classes last year, which is why we consider it a good choice for this year’s allocation as well. However, we don’t rule out the possibility that we might also see the SCX in action, more likely in the Superpole Race, as the teams have now gained more experience with it and, with the right weather and track conditions, it could offer that extra bit of grip that the riders like. Both specifications are standard solutions that are regularly found on the market, available to all motorcyclists, and are also successfully used in the British Superbike championship. For WorldSSP, in addition to the stock solutions we are also reintroducing the soft front SC1 development tyre in specification D0444, which we introduced for the first time at Misano, and which has already been the choice of almost half the grid in both Race 1 and Race 2. This will serve us well in gathering further information for the future development of this specification.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com