Bautista-Razgatlioğlu take one each on Sunday in Barcelona

The rainy weather and the dropping temperatures changed track conditions at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit this morning, impacting strategies in terms of tyre choice. The SC1 front and SCQ rear were the options chosen by the riders on the podium in the Superpole Race, where Toprak Razgatlioğlu on BMW did the double after winning Race 1 yesterday in a battle that went down to the final turn with Ducati riders Andrea Iannone and Álvaro Bautista, the latter yet again the protagonist of a comeback ride from the eleventh spot on the starting grid. 
In Race 2, the SC1 front and SCX rear were the winning combination and they accompanied Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) on his solitary ride all the way to the end, where he finished with a 2-second advantage over teammate Nicolò Bulega and 7 seconds ahead of Toprak Razgatlioğlu (BMW), third, who had opted instead of the SC2 option at the front. 
Winner of the second WorldSSP race was Stefano Manzi (Yamaha) ahead of Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta), second, and Lucas Mahias (Yamaha), third

We are strengthening the solutions that are already well known and recording information for the upcoming evolutions
 
“This round was a fundamental test bench to gather information on the new development specifications introduced for the first time in the race right here. I'm talking about the C0516 front and the C0900 rear, which represent a first step for Pirelli in our development programme for this year. The difficult conditions of the track on Saturday and the variable weather on Sunday drove many teams and riders toward solutions they were already more familiar with, rather than gambling on something new. In any case, the feedback we received will still help a great deal in understanding what can be improved. In general, all of the specifications we brought provided benefits for the riders in different ways depending on the individual specificity, and they allowed the races to be held regularly, contributing to the great show we saw on the track. We are also pleased with the performance of the SCQ, evolved from last year, which allowed the riders to do fast laps and cover the 10 laps of the Superpole Race in less time than in 2023.”

· ⁠In the warmup, due to an early morning rainfall, the riders used rain tyres. Conditions improved for the Superpole race, allowing them to return to dry track solutions. At the start, tyre choice was almost unanimous for the rear, with the SCQ used by the entire grid except for Iker Lecuona (Honda), who started on the SCX. For the front, the favourite was the SC1, with only five riders on the C0516. Toprak Razgatlioğlu on BMW won the race ahead of Andrea Iannone and Álvaro Bautista, both on Ducati. Some interesting stats on the Superpole Race: the total race time was 12 seconds lower than the 2023 race, dropping below the 17-minute total mark for 10 laps.
 
· ⁠At the start of Race 2 in WorldSBK, almost all the riders on the grid had chosen to rely on the standard SCX solution at the rear. Only Bradley Ray (Yamaha) and Tarran Mackenzie (Honda) opted for the C0900 development tyre. Front tyre choice was more varied: half the riders went with the SC1, 7 preferred the SC2, and only 4 chose the C0516 development solution. 
 
· ⁠In Superport, the SC1 was the most popular among the riders on the Race 2 starting grid. Only three opted for the SC2. Different settings and individual preferences made rear tyre choice more varied, with an equal split between the SCX and the SC0. Following a red flag which stopped the race due to an accident, at the restart, another five riders decided to switch from the SC0 to the SCX in order to fully exploit the six remaining laps, with Can Öncü (Kawasaki) also changing the front, switching from SC2 to SC1. 
 
· ⁠In Race 2 of Supersport 300, victory went to Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) who bested another Spaniard, Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team), in the final stretch. Completing the podium was Italian Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki).
 
More details on the tyres are available on the technical sheets attached to this release.