The most obvious recent change in approach for the fans watching from trackside is the use of slick tyres in all classes . This was , in part , almost a necessity because of the growth in power outputs and cornering stress produced by the 600cc Supersport machines . More fundamentally , the differences in production , materials technology and philosophy between fullon WorldSBK tyres and Pirelli ’ s sports road products is so strong already that its treaded tyres on the street are very close reflections of their slick cousins featuring in each top racers ’ WorldSBK allocation from weekend-to-weekend .
Providing slick tyres through the entire WorldSBK paddock also serves the needs of an expanding group of Pirelli customers . As street bike performance grows , as it always does in a competitive marketplace , more and more riders are choosing track days and rider experiences to explore the limits of their machines and themselves , in an environment with no other distractions , among like-minded enthusiasts . The growth of trackday activity , and Pirelli tyres providing a wide window of efficient operation as part of their deliberate design criteria , has created a market within a market . Slick tyres for road bikes , but used on the track . Pirelli has also used the opportunity afforded by its long history in WorldSBK , with its vast pool of top riders to help in its development programme in real racing conditions , to provide real world customers with what are often exactly the same tyre choice as that used by the race winner at the previous round of WorldSBK . To paraphrase Pirelli ’ s motto , you can buy not only what Pirelli races and sells but often these are exactly the same slick tyre choices used by World Champions who won races on them the weekend before . For all levels of production derived racing , from amateur to national this is an astounding reality to grasp at first .
There are of course development tyres in each WorldSBK rider ’ s allocation , normally , as well as the ‘ standard ’ options in the garage . This is how racing is used by Pirelli to improve the breed , but even now WorldSBK riders still win on race tyres that are part of Pirelli ’ s global product range of racing material . This relatively new market for Pirelli , based on customer demand for the full experience and thrills of hard track riding without the cost or pressures of racing for real was almost unheard of in the early days of Pirelli ’ s single make tyre status in WorldSBK . According to Giorgio Barbier , Pirelli Moto Racing Director , “ The market for slick tyres for people who run on the circuit for track days did not exist at all . No one was concerned what the market was . It was just the image you brought from MotoGP™ or Superbike into magazines and TV . Then the trend for people to buy big bikes started , and not only to run on the road . This was a key for us to make a decision . In the days of prototype tyres we would make a few hundred of one tyre every year , on special machines with special technicians working by hand . They cost ten times what standard Superbike tyres cost now . Nobody considered that it would become a market . As soon as we became the sole tyre supplier in WorldSBK we had to produce five thousand of each tyre for every race , so we had to produce them in a factory where the standard tyres were produced . We learned in the factory to make something less prototype and more on a product line .”
Now we can see how the mass production of ever-improving race tyres has been the way forward for Pirelli to serve the needs of not only the most potent WorldSBK riders in the world , but riders about to take on the challenge of their first track-day experience . It is the firm embodiment of Pirelli ’ s philosophy , We Sell What We Race , We Race What We Sell .
PIRELLI STATS PITSTOP
Pirelli has competed at 42 different WorldSBK circuits since 1989 . Navarra , Most and Mandalika are the new challenges for 2021 .
Since the dawn of the single make tyre era in 2004 , Pirelli as brought over 750 new tyre solutions .
Over 1 million Pirelli tyres have been taken to WorldSBK races since 2004 .
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