Imola to see return of multiple Pirelli WorldSBK tyre compounds
The Imola WorldSBK round will see the return of a number of tyre compounds from Pirelli that missed the UK round due to Donington's new surface.
Pirelli has announced its tyre compounds for the upcoming Italian round of the 2023 WorldSBK season, with some compounds returning after an absence in Donington.
Two such returning compounds are the C0004 SCQ rear tyre, and standard SC0 front tyre. The C0004 made its debut earlier this year in Misano, at the Emilia Romagna round, while the SC0 arrived for the first time at the beginning of this year.
Both compounds missed the UK round at Donington just over one week ago due to the British circuit’s new surface, which offers more grip than the old one and which was still relatively unknown to Pirelli.
For this weekend in Imola, the C0004 SCQ will be available to use in only Superpole and the Superpole Race, while in the longer races the SCX tyre is expected to be the popular choice, with temperatures expected to be quite high this weekend.
The SCX itself is available in two variants this weekend, the standard version and the development SCX-A B0800 version which debuted in Magny-Cours last year and uses a stronger construction than the standard version and softer tread rubber.
Pirelli Motorcycle Racing Director, Giorgio Barbier, said ahead of the Imola round: “We are back on a track we know well and which has already hosted the Superbike World Championship 17 times, the last one in 2019.
“Compared to Donington round, 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.”
The Italian round of WorldSBK takes place this weekend at Imola, from 14-16 July.
