WorldSBK-derived Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa V4 now available
Pirelli has announced that the fourth generation of its production racing-derived sports bike tyre, available in two versions, is now available.
Pirelli has announced the latest generation of its Diablo Supercorsa, the V4, is now on sale to the public.
Pirelli announced the fourth generation of its WorldSBK-derived sports bike tyre, the Diablo Supercorsa V4, last September. At that time, it was only confirmed that the new range would be available in 2023, but now it is confirmed that they are available from this month (January 2023).
The new tyre is available in both SP - for road use - and SC - for track use - versions, with multiple compounds available on the SC variant. Compared to the previous Diablo Supercorsa V3, the tread pattern and compound for the V4 is totally new, according to Pirelli.
The SC variant of the V4 is designed to give better support on corner exit, improve stability at high speed, and the tread pattern is intended to give a smoother feeling on power application. There are also three compound choices for the SC. SC1 provides the most feeling at the front and the most performance at the rear in track conditions with high temperatures and/or low grip; SC2 gives better consistency and stability at the front, and better consistency at the rear, as well as superior performance compared to the SC1 in low-temperature conditions; finally the SC3 is intended for extended track use, but not for professional racing.
Pirelli has also utilised a dual compound on the SP variant of the Diablo Supercorsa V4 - a sort of middle-ground between the Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV Corsa and Diablo Supercorsa SC - for optimised grip both mid-corner and on corner exits. Further, the construction of the tyre has been designed to work with the compound rubber to suit either road or track use by changing the tyre pressure, while the profile and tread pattern are identical to those of the SC version.
That tread pattern is known as the 'interrupted Flash design', and is also designed for optimised water displacement, while the 'interrupted' part of the tread reduces the risk of tread deformation. Further, the direction of the pattern is the same as the lateral forces experienced during track riding, according to Pirelli, while the section of the tyre on the edge where it is slick offers greater tyre-road contact for improved grip mid-corner.
Find out more about the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa V4 SC here, and about the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa V4 SP here.
This article was originally published on 12 September 2022, but has been updated on 16 January 2023 when Pirelli has announced that the Diablo Supercorsa V4 tyres are available for purchase. The original article can be read below.
The Diablo Supercorsa V4 is, believe it or not, the fourth generation of Pirelli’s race-derived sports tyre product, and is available in two versions.
Firstly, there is the SP version, designed for sports bikes and focused on riding on the street. Then, there is the SC version, which is designed also for the track while still being road legal, and is available in different compounds. The SC version is the tyre that is used by national-level series which still make use of treaded tyres, like the National Superstock series here in Britain.
The Diablo Supercorsa V4 brings a new tread design, construction, profile, and new compounds to Pirelli’s flagship sports range compared to the previous edition.
This fourth generation Diablo Supercorsa tyre will become available to the public 16 years after the first version was established in 2007, three years after Pirelli began its partnership with the Superbike World Championship in 2004.
Since then, Pirelli’s time in WorldSBK has seen it go through difficult periods - for example in 2016 where there were some issues with delaminations - but also exhibit exceptional performance over one lap, as well as in race conditions.
They are also used by riders of varying statures and physical builds, and many different motorcycles. This year, for example, there are three riders with three different styles on three vastly different motorcycles fighting for the World Championship. It is also arguable that the performance of Scott Redding and the SMR team this season proves that a fourth manufacturer can fight for race wins, and both Michael Rinaldi and Axel Bassani also showed their potential to extract race-winning pace from their Ducati packages last weekend in Magny-Cours.
Even in 2022, Pirelli is bringing development solutions to many WorldSBK events in the search for better performance, and tyres such as the Diablo Supercorsa V4 are the reason for that. The development Pirelli does in WorldSBK is able to be translated to the road.
