Positive season for Pirelli in WorldSBK

The Spanish Round, the final event of the 2023 FIM World Superbike Championship, ended with the victories of newly crowned Ducati world champion riders Álvaro Bautista in Superbike and Nicolò Bulega in Supersport.
 
Both the Spaniard and the Italian won all the races of the weekend and also took the Pirelli Best Lap Award for doing 19 and 11 race fast laps respectively during the course of the year. Taking home the title in WorldSSP300, on the other hand, was Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) with 4 race fast laps.
 
As for the tyres used in this round, at the front, the SC1 was chosen by all the riders, both in Superbike and in Supersport, whereas at the rear, all the soft solutions in SCX or SCQ blend ensured outstanding performance even with relatively low temperatures and optimum consistency from start to finish, as demonstrated by the duel fought down to the final turns between Bautista and Razgatlioğlu in Race 2.

A positive season for Pirelli under the sign of development
 
“The results of this season for Pirelli are undoubtedly positive and we have successfully advanced the development schedule that we had set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. In Superbike, the main goal was to improve the mileage of the rear extra soft SCQ not only in qualifying, but also in the Superpole Race - a result that we achieved with the C0004 specification which will become the standard compound in 2023, replacing the current SCQ. The other rear development solution that will join the standard range is the medium A1126 which will become the new SC1. As for the front, this year we began working on a soft SC0 option and this development will continue into next season. In Supersport, focus was on the SC1 front and, here once again, we were able to improve performance with the B1333 specification which will join the standard range as the new SC1 front. It is clear, therefore, that the World Superbike Championship is still the best development platform for us for our racing tyres because we have most of the motorcycle manufacturers here, which means that we are able to test our products until the work well with multiple bikes. It is an ideal condition, considering the fact that these same tyres are sold regularly on the market, so the must ensure versatility and be able to adapt to any bike. Now we’ll remain in Jerez for two days of testing aimed at preparing for next season.”

• The Superpole Race was red-flagged on the second lap and then restarted for a distance of eight laps. At the front, all the riders used the standard SC1, whereas at the rear, the most popular solution was the SCQ C0004 development tyre. Only Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) decided to start on the SCX B0800 development solution, whereas Rabat (Kawasaki), Ruiu (BMW), Syahrin (Honda), and Konig (Kawasaki) opted for the standard SCX. At the restart, Alex Lowes also switched to the SCX B0800 rear, whereas Aegerter (Yamaha), Rinaldi (Ducati), and Lecuona (Honda) switched from the SCQ to the standard SCX. Starting from pole position, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) won this race as well, finishing ahead of Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). 
• In Race 2, the riders substantially confirmed the tyre choices they had made yesterday in Race 1: SC1 front and standard or development (B0800) SCX at the rear. The final race of the year had Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) engaged in a thrilling duel. Overtaking manoeuvres down to the last lap and Razgatlioğlu finishing first, only to be penalised for having exceeded track limits coming out of the final turn. Victory went to Bautista, with Razgatlioğlu relegated to second place and the other Yamaha rider, Dominique Aegerter taking third. The Turkish rider celebrated this 100th podium with Yamaha before going over to BMW in 2024, whereas Aruba.it Racing – Ducati wins the team World Title.

• For Race 2, the riders confirmed the tyres chosen in Race 1 at the rear, so practically everyone was on the grid with the standard SCX except Kawasaki riders Adrian Huertas and Can Oncu who started with the standard SC0. At the front, some riders who had been on the standard SC1 for Race 1 switched to the SC1 B1333 development tyre, which remained the most used solution. After the race was red-flagged, there were a few changes: Adrian Huertas and Can Oncu switched to the SCX rear, with Filippo Fuligni (Yamaha) using the SC0.
• Winning the race and improving on the record set yesterday for the most race wins in a season, was Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) who, like in Race 1, finished ahead of Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Third place went to Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

More details on the tyres used in the race are available on the technical sheets attached to this release.