Pirelli ready to get on track in Russia for the halfway point of the Eni FIM Superbike World Championship and the second round of the Cup of Nations

For the eighth of fifteen rounds scheduled this year, the brand of the long P will provide Superbike and Supersport riders with SC1 and SC2 tyres which are best suited to the features of the Russian circuit and to lower temperatures After last year's debut, Pirelli returns to Russia on the Moscow Raceway circuit for the halfway point of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship now in its eighth round of the season out of 15 planned for 2013. On the Russian track Superbike and Supersport riders will race plus participants of the Cup of Nations 2013. The general standings of the Superbike class is increasingly hard fought and at the top continue to alternate between several riders, including Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), the current leader of the Championship having just returned from a splendid double win at Imola, Aprilia Racing Team teammates, Sylvain Guintoli and Eugene Laverty, and the BMW Italian rider Marco Melandri. In addition to the performances offered by the riders, this first part of the 2013 season gave satisfaction also thanks to the excellent work done by the new 17-inch Diablo Superbike tyres that so far have shown their qualities, contributing in a fundamental way to improve lap times and beat historical records. In Supersport, where riders used treaded tyres; Diablo Supercorsa SC, Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport) leads the standings with 140 points, but is closely followed by the riders of MAHI Racing Team India Kenan Sofuoglu at 106 and Fabien Foret at 85. The Russian circuit will also host the second of three stages planned for the Cup of Nations 2013, a trophy on Pirelli tyres sponsored by Russian tycoon Alexander Yakhnich and open to riders with a minimum age of 16 years. Pirelli guarantees riders a minimum of 1 set of dry tyres (SC1 front and rear) and 1 set of wet tyres for each race. At the front end, they will have Diablo Supercorsa SC2 compounds in range (R1031) size- 120/70-17, for the rear Diablo Supercorsa standard SC1 (R303) size- 180/60-17. The Moscow Raceway is a car and motorcycle track located near Syčëvo in Volokolamskij region , about 80 kilometres west of Moscow and opened last year. The construction of the circuit, designed by renowned German architect Hermann Tilke, began in October 2008 and, after a period of interruption restarted in June 2010, with completion in mid-2012. This circuit has a total of 18 different layouts ranging from a maximum of 4,070 meters to a minimum of 1,357 meters of length. The main two formats used are : that of 3,955 meters usually used for car races and the other, 3,931 meters intended for the motorcycle races as Superbike. The first race ever organized on the track was that of the World Series by Renault raced on 14-15 July 2012, to follow the track hosted the World Superbike Championship at the end of August last year. Moscow from a tyre point of view: The Moscow Raceway track has 10 turns to the left and 7 on the right, a maximum slope of 4% and the start is on the right side for the rider in pole position. The layout of the Russian track provides a fairly slow and technical sector and a part composed of two long, consecutive and very fast straights. For the front tyres, the track requires a good balance between keeping up speed for the flowing part, and the strength/support for the violent braking and turns close to the straights, for the rear tyres instead, this layout is not particularly critical. However on both tyres, front and rear, last year the track was found to be very aggressive because of the constant presence of sandy sediments on the surface and uneven road surfaces. The presence of sand represents a reduction of the surface area of the tyre footprint, significantly compromising the grip between compound and asphalt. As a consequence of this, there was the strong tendency to slip in the corner , which on an asphalt just produced (and consequently quite abrasive), generated on the tyres abrasion due to rubbing. The phenomenon then has been gradually improving with the progress of cleaning the track and the increasing deposition of rubber. The choice of the rear tyres will have to take into account the level of grip/cleaning of the track, and the riders should try to face the early sessions of the weekend with a rear tyre which is more robust (SC2), and then shift the focus onto the SC1 solutions. Concerning the choice of the front tyre, it must be taken into account the robustness of the tyre, in addition to its mechanical strength. The SC1 last year in some cases could trigger movement problems after a few laps, and for some riders this lower stability could turn into potentially ‘losing’ the front. To improve the robustness of the front axle during cornering and for a better wear, the most suitable solution is definitely the SC2. Moscow from a technical point of view: "We have ridden here for the first time last year a few months after the inauguration and we were the first ever to do it with two wheel machines," said Pirelli Moto Racing Director Giorgio Barbier "However, for us it is still quite a new track and we haven’t collected a lot of data. In 2012 we raced at the end of August, the asphalt was almost immaculate with absolutely no grip. With works still in progress around the track it had initially brought a lot of sand onto the asphalt causing some problems with wear to the tyres during the tests and free practice sessions. This year the circuit is finally finished and they ran different competitions so the asphalt should be more rubberized, however, there remains the unpredictable weather that could play an important role. In 2013, the date has in fact been brought forward a month, but we do not know what temperatures we’ll find so, on the basis of the limited data collected last year, we decided to focus on solutions more robust and more protected as the SC1 and SC2 compared to the SC0 which offers more performance but could present problems because of the aggressiveness of a new asphalt and in the case of temperatures being not high enough ". Pirelli solutions for the Superbike and Supersport classes: For the Moscow round Pirelli will be bringing 3366 tyres for the race weekend included those for the Cup of Nations. 1394 tyres are destined for Superbike riders, 1768 for Supersport as well as 204 for the Cup of Nations. Each Superbike rider will have 35 front tyres and same quantity for the rear, whereas the Supersport riders will have 25 front and 27 rear tyres. The riders in the Superbike class will have 3 slick solutions available for the front and as many for the rear, joined as always by 2 rear qualifiers per rider and the intermediate solutions, 4 for the front and as many for the rear, as well as 8 wet tyres for the front and 8 for the rear. On the front, as for every round raced this year, Pirelli brings the standard SC1 solution (R426) in a soft compound - ideal for low external temperatures and/or medium harsh tracks, as well as the standard SC2 (R982), also brought to all the 2013 rounds and excellent for high external temperatures because it guarantees a solid tread strip. The third slick alternative available to the Superbike riders for the front is the R753, a development solution in SC2 compound, an alternative to the standard SC2 that was already brought to Phillip Island, Monza, Portimão and Imola which tends to be sturdier and therefore more resistant to aggressive asphalt. For the rear the riders will find the new development solution R1431 in SC1 compound which has been brought for the first time to Imola and which was designed with the goal of providing higher tear resistance but equal grip compared to the standard SC1. Another alternative with same SC1 compound is the S513, a new development solution in medium compound already seen at Monza using the same compound of standard SC1 but with reinforced central section. Last slick option is the R1300, a medium-hard development solution brought only to Phillip Island and Donington which provides better wear resistance than the standard SC1 and more grip than the standard SC2. Supersport riders for the front once again will be able to choose between the two standard solutions, the SC1 in a soft compound (P1177) ideal for medium harsh tracks and the SC2 in medium compound (R1031) ideal for aggressive riders who prefer a compact tread strip, both already used in all the races held so far in 2013. On the rear, as with the Superbike class, two SC1 and one SC2 solutions will be brought. Specifically the SC1 R1134, a development solution in medium compound alternative to the standard SC1 already seen at Phillip Island and Monza and the SC1 R303, in a medium compound and ideal for medium harsh tracks, already brought to the first seven 2013 rounds. The third solution is the R1287, a medium-hard development solution already brought to Australia which provides better mechanical resistance than the SC1. The 2012 Pirelli statistics for Moscow: • Total number of Pirelli tyres brought: 3864 • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate, wet and qualifier only for rear) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 6 rear • Number of solutions for the Supersport class (dry, intermediate and wet): 4 front and 5 rear • Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 34 front and 36 rear • Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider: 24 front and 28 rear • Superbike Best Lap Awards won by Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) in 1'36.729 (Race 1, 13^th lap) and Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) in 1'35.794 (Race 2, 10^th lap) • Supersport Best Lap Awards won by: Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) in 1'38.167 (12^th lap) • Temperature in Race 1: air 18° C, asphalt 18° C • Temperature in Race 2: air 21° C, asphalt 37° C • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli tyres: 317 km/h, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) in Race 2 on the 4^th lap.