Pirelli in Thailand for Round 2 WSBK
Next weekend the Chang International Circuit of Buriram, Thailand, will host the FIM MOTUL Superbike World Championship for the second consecutive year.
For this event, Pirelli will provide riders with almost only standard tyres, which means solutions regularly for sale on the market. On the Monday following the race weekend, the first Pirelli SBK Track Day of the 2016 season will take place, the first appointment of several track days dedicated to riders who love the Milanese brand in some of the most fascinating circuits that host the World Superbike.
The Chang International Circuit is the newest track out of those in the World Championship calendar, inaugurated in October 2014 and hosted the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for the first time last year in March. Up to now it is the only circuit approved by the FIM in Thailand and therefore the only one capable of hosting the World Superbike Championship.
Designed by renowned architect Hermann Tilke and built in the town of Buriram, approximately 400 kilometers north-east of Bangkok, it is 4.554 km long and has 12 corners, 7 left and 5 right.
It is a circuit that presents a not particularly challenging configuration for tyres which are nevertheless called to cope with particularly high temperatures and humidity.
The solutions for the Superbike and Supersport classes
In Thailand, as for the first round held in Australia, only the Superbike and Supersport classes will race.
Both categories have available, as usual, both dry as well as intermediate and wet tyres. Pirelli will bring to Buriram a total of 2695 tyres.
With regard to the premier class, riders can count on five slick solutions, two front and three rear. At the front, they can choose between the development SC1 S1699, a solution much appreciated by riders already in the first round as well as being the front solution most used in 2015, and the standard SC2. This is a medium compound option that appeals most to those riders who prefer a compact tread strip as well as greater solidity, stability and precision when entering corners.
Regarding the alternatives for the rear, there will be first of all the standard SC0, that has a soft compound ideal for tackling smooth asphalt and high temperatures, offering maximum tread contact on smooth asphalt and traction development at high temperatures, as well as higher resistance to thermal performance decay. It is by far the most widely used rear solution in the Superbike World Championship.
As an alternative there will be the development SC1 S1867, provided to the riders also in the first round of the season and offering a medium hardness compound with greater mechanical strength compared to the standard SC1.
In Supersport only standard DIABLO ™ Supercorsa SC solutions will be available. To the front there are the standard SC1 and SC2, to the rear the options are: the standard SC0 ideal for tackling smooth asphalt and high temperatures and the standard SC1, which places it halfway between the soft and the hard solutions. It is the most popular solution when, perhaps on account of it being too cold or the asphalt being particularly abrasive, the SC0 can’t be used.
The 2015 Pirelli statistics for Buriram
- Total number of tyres Pirelli brought: 3312
- Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class:4 front and 5 rear
- Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider:30 front and 30 rear
- Number of solutions for the Supersport class (dry, intermediate and wet):4 front and 4 rear
- Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider:23 front and 24 rear
- Superbike Best Lap Awards both won by:Jonathan Rea(Kawasaki Racing Team),1’33.969 (Race 1, 2ndlap) and 1’33.817 (Race 2, 2nd lap)
- Supersport Best Lap Award won by:Jules Cluzel(MV Agusta Reparto Corse), 1’37.887 (12thlap)
- Temperature in Race 1:air 33° C, asphalt 50° C
- Temperature in Race 2:air 32° C, asphalt 48° C
- Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres:307.7 km/h,in Race 2 byJordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) at 2nd lap.
- Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO Supercorsa SC tyres in Supersport race:267.3 km/h by Patrick Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) at 2nd lap and by Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK25) at 3rd lap.
