PIRELLI
POWERED BY
WIN FOR THE LONG HAUL
The Motul FIM Superbike World Championship has had a working relationship with Pirelli as its 360 ° tyre supplier for 18 fruitful seasons , through all forms of machine and product development . We dig into what makes this particular single make tyre co-operation unique .
T
he well-proven Pirelli / WorldSBK partnership remains the longest such deal in motorsport history and was the first of its type to appear in a full world championship . The strong working and promotional bond continues again for very good reason - it functions well for all concerned . More than anything else , the design of Pirelli products for street use , trackdays and racing from amateur to full WorldSBK level are developed and proven in the crucible of real WorldSBK races . In other words , the highest form of production racing there is . After realising that some of the competing WorldSBK tyre suppliers were not making their best products available to all manufacturers , teams and riders , the former championship organisers took the initiative and created a single make tyre championship in 2004 . Pirelli was the company to step up to the challenge , realising the potential far beyond being appointed single make tyre supplier . Pirelli then embarked on a gigantic logistical effort to supply every rider in all the classes with the same choices of tyres . One-by-one most major series adopted single make tyres of some brand or other , despite initial rejection of the new WorldSBK idea . In the case of Pirelli , then and now , being the sole tyre supplier was a shrewd decision to enhance and accelerate its race and road product development . Instead of just supplying a small range of solutions taken over the world Pirelli generally expanded its options across the board , and then embarked on a programme of technical development that has never stopped .
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