Pirelli presents a new range of 17-Inch Tires for the 2013 Superbike World Championship

New profiles, new side walls and increased patch area guarantee improved stability and cornering as well as an increase in performance for the entire duration of the race Pirelli is ready for the 2013 season of the Superbike World Championship with the new range of 17-inch tires, Diablo Superbike for dry, and Diablo Wet and Diablo Rain for wet conditions. Pirelli has been present in factory derivative racing right from the start of the Championship at the end of the 1980s but with the 2013 season it will be 10 consecutive years that the Milanese company has been sole supplier of tires for all the classes involved in the Superbike World Championship, a uniqueness which gives the brand with the long "P" the record of longest running, and consequently the most successful control-tire supplier in the history of motor sports at the international level. This testifies to the excellent relationship that the Italian company, based in the Bicocca district in Milan, has always had both with the International Motorcycling Federation and with the promoter and organiser of the World Championship right from the start in 1988, and also to Pirelli's continual and constant ability to innovate and to offer products at the technological leading edge. Innovation which will not be lacking this year thanks to the transition, which opens a new era in the history of competition on two wheels, from 16.5” to the new 17-inch tires. Pirelli's engineers have worked hard over the last season and during the winter breaktotally redesigning the new tires, which now have new profiles and side walls, and increased grip, and guarantee a reduction in movement and improved stability on cornering as well as maintaining performance during the race. The range of compounds has also been designed from scratch on the basis of the new structure of the 17-inch tires. The new compounds are softer, more versatile and higher performing: with only two front-tire compounds, unlike the three used in the past, now every race of the Championship can be covered because Pirelli has managed to considerablyincrease the range of use of each compound. Last but not least, Pirelli's Research and Development Department has focused its efforts on developing a new intermediate tire, the Diablo Wet, designed to respond better to the expectations of teams and riders and to have a wider spectrum of use. Thanks to its characteristics the new intermediate tire may turn out to be decisive in certain weather conditions and crucial in the race strategy that the teams choose to adopt. “The work done by Pirelli in the top class of the World Championship has always been fundamental. There were, for example, as many as 26 solutions developed and taken to the track during 2012 for the Superbike category alone and the competitiveness and spectacular nature of the Championship guaranteed right up to the last race are the most evident proof of the work done” said Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Motorcycle Racing Director. “Since 2004, the year in which the Championship introduced the control tire rule, year after year spectators have been able to watch an increasingly exciting and competitive Superbike World Championship which has attracted an ever-growing number of motorcycle manufacturers. In the last season, in fact, right up to the last laps there were four riders from four different manufacturers competing for the title of world champion, which was decided only on the last turns with Max Biaggi and Aprilia beating Tom Sykes and his Kawasaki by only 0.5 points. Pirelli's stated aim has always been to level the playing field for riders and manufacturers so they can compete and fight for the title, and the final general standings of 2012, in which the top five positions were held by riders from five different motorcycle manufacturers, is the most evident proof that the desired result has been achieved”. THE TWO-WHEELED CHALLENGES OF THE COMING SEASON For the 2013 season Pirelli confirms its commitment to the top competitions on two wheels with both a control tire and an open tire rule and both at the national level and on a global scale. In international racing activities the company with the long "P" is continuing its role as sole tire supplier for all classes of the Superbike World Championship (Superbike, Supersport, Superstock 1000, Superstock 600 and European Junior Cup) and assupplier of a number of teams in classes MX1 and MX2 of the Motocross WorldChampionship. At the very beginning of the year Pirelli was also participating in the Dakar Rally as official technical partner of the HRC Honda Team. In theEndurance field too the objective is to repeat the excellent results obtained in past years in the Endurance World Championship as well as in the Master of Endurance competitions such as the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours and the Bold’Or. At the national level Pirelli is consolidating its presence in its capacity as sole tire supplier in the most important local Championships. In Italy the adventure is continuing in the CIV in the Stock 600 classes, as well as supporting trophies such as Honda Cup, Motorex Cup and 125 SP Cup. As regards the United Kingdom in BSB, of which it is also Presenting Sponsor, besides the Superbike and Supersport classes, from this year on, Pirelli will also be supplying tires for the Superstock 1000 and 600 categories and for Ducati 848 Challenge and Triumph Triple Challenge. In France the supply contracts for the 600 Cup and Top Twin Cup are confirmed, as also in Germany for the Junior Cup and in Spain for the BMW Cup and the Pre-GP and Moto3 classes of the Motodes. In Sweden Pirelli will be sole supplier of the Pro SBK. Crossing the European borders, the Milanese company is once more a sole provider to the Superbike Series in Brazil, supplying the Superbike and Supersport classes in the national championship in Canada, the Supersport Series in Malaysia and of the Stock 1000 Cups, which are raced in South Africa and Costa Rica. In addition to the competitions mentioned so far, the racing department of Pirelli's motorcycle business unit will beengaged at the local level in all the non-control tire Championships in which in the past it has shown that it is not afraid of its competitors, proving the excellent quality of the tires developed. As well as the challenge offered by the control tire Championships - in which, as there are no competitors, Pirelli's objective consists of always surpassing itself, improving the lap times year after year and offering an increasingly high-performing product - Pirelli has never retreated, taking part successfully for years in competitions that involve the participation of more than one tire manufacturer. This is why in 2013, it will race supporting a number of teams in the open tire classes of the IDM in Germany, the FSBK in France, the CIV in Italy, the ONK in the Netherlands, and in the national Championships of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Australia, New Zealand and in the Alpe-Adria area. The excellent results obtained in the last season at the national and international level are the most evident proof of the commitment, which Pirelli has always shown in the field of competitions and which also affects the market in which Pirelli has now been the indisputable leader for years in the Premium segment. Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employsstate-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.