-VAN February 12, 2016 0 Comments

The iconic brand confirms its undisputed leading status in the world of two-wheel racing, with its participation in 110 championships over five continents, including the Superbike World Championship, Motocross and Endurance, AMA Supercross Championship and British Superbike

Milan (Italy), 11 February 2016 – 2016, another year in which Pirelli will be the undisputed star of the most important national and international motorcycle competitions. From Phillip Island to the desert sands and US stadiums, via some of the most fascinating locations and tracks in the world: the iconic brand will be participating in 110 motor cycle championships over five continents. Of these 34 as Sole Tyre Supplier and 76 in ‘open’ competition with other tyre manufacturers.

Among the most important are the Superbike, Motocross and Endurance World Championships, AMA Supercross Championship and MCE British Superbike, as well as numerous national and local championships, in both on and off-road. Pirelli has been involved in these for several years, true to the strong sporting spirit which has always been a distinguishing characteristic of the company.

A glaring example of Pirelli’s full circle commitment to competition: on the weekend of 27 and 28 February the tyre manufacturer’s motorsports team will be competing at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia for the first date of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the eighth race of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship and lastly at Losail, just a short distance from the capital of Qatar, for the opening leg of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The most important change for 2016 is Pirelli’s introduction of a new compound to the DIABLO™ Superbike slick range of tyres. This is used in both World Superbike and available for the Superbike classes of national championships and road racing competitions. The new SC3 solution, available for the front and the rear, adds to the existing range as the hardest of the available solutions and has been specifically developed for endurance races and situations where good resistance and lasting performance are needed. This means that as well as being used in the FIM Endurance World Championship, this compound could also occasionally appear in action at the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, but only as a front option since given the length of the race. Such a hard, resistant solution would be superfluous for the rear wheel and unlikely to be chosen by riders completing relatively few kilometres at maximum performance.
Race dates for 2016

Pirelli started its season in two wheel competition on 9 January at the Angel Stadium, Anaheim, in the United States, with the first round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship programme. Supercross is the out and out most popular motorcycle competition in the United States which fills entire stadiums with fans and their families and for which Pirelli is also the official “Motorcycle tyre” sponsor for the three-year period 2014-2016.

The weekend of 27-28 February will mark the début of the season at Phillip Island and at Losail, respectively of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship and of the FIM Motocross World Championship which will see Pirelli’s range of motorcycle racing tyres in action, on both the track and off road.

This year too Pirelli will be participating, in some cases as the Sole Tyre Supplier and in others in an open competition, in some of the most important motorcycle events at a national and international level. These include the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the FIM Motocross World Championship, the FIM Endurance World Championship, Monster Energy AMA Supercross (a FIM World Championship), the MCE British Superbike Championship, Italian Speed Championship, German IDM Championship and French Superbike series.

For Pirelli in fact these competitions are a laboratory for developing and testing their tyres with some of the best riders around, the same tyres which are then marketed and supplied to motorcyclists all over the world.

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship organised by Dorna is definitely the most important example of how racing is Pirelli’s preferred R&D platform. Pirelli has been the Sole Official Tyre Supplier for all classes of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship since 2004, and will run until 2018, a record in the history of motorsports making Pirelli the longest running sole tyre supplier at an international level.

Unlike other championships where prototype tyres are used, from the beginning Pirelli’s philosophy has been that of designing, with the help of riders, competition products which can be used by motor cyclists in general. That’s where the now-famous motto “We sell what we race, we race what we sell” stems from and the creation of the DIABLO™ range with historic tyres like the DIABLO™ Superbike used in the top class, and the DIABLO™ Supercorsa SC used in the Supersport, Superstock 1000, Superstock 600 and European Junior Cup classes, undisputed market leaders for years.

Moving on to the most important off road competition, the FIM Motocross World Championship sponsored by Youthstream, the Italian tyre company once again stars as one of the Official Tyre Supplier, boasting a record of 64 world titles achieved with products marketed for sale and strictly belonging to the SCORPION™ MX range. Chief of these the legendary SCORPION™ MX32™. In 2016 Pirelli will be supporting riders of the calibre of Tony Cairoli; the eight times World Champion, Jeffrey Herlings; twice MX2 World Champion, Romain Febvre, Jordi Tixier, Kevin Strijbos, Max Nagl, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Gleen Coldenhoff and many others.
The FIM Endurance World Championship, starts on 8 April in France on the legendary circuit of Le Mans where the Le Mans Moto 24 Hours has given Pirelli four wins over the last five years.

The Endurance, as the word itself suggests, is an extreme and exciting championship, testing riders and teams to the limit in terms of concentration and stress. In 24 June it will be the turn of the Portimão 12 Hours in Portugal, while on 29 July all eyes of motor cycle fans will be focused on the Land of the Rising Sun, where the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours will take place. The Championship will end with the 8 Hours of Oscherleben in Germany at the end of August. The 2017 Bol d’Or championship season will now start on the Paul Ricard circuit of Le Castellet on the weekend of 17-18 September, a competition which Pirelli has dominated without interruption for the past four years.

Numerous competitions also see Pirelli involved at a national level both as sole tyre supplier and in open competition. First of all in the UK; the MCE British Superbike for which Pirelli has been the Presenting Sponsor and Sole Tyre supplier since 2008 and where it will continue to be so, subsequent to the renewal signed in October last year, until 2020. The riders of the British national series will take to the track for the first round at the Silverstone circuit on the weekend of 8-10 April.

Pirelli also confirms its important position in the IDM (German National Championship), France Superbike FSBK (French National Championship), CIV (Italian Speed Championship),  Superbike Series Brazil, in the South African Stock 1000 Cup, in Malaysia and in the Philippines with the Superbike Series. Also the R125 Cup in Holland, as well as the Belgian, Czech, Polish, Austrian, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, Bulgarian, Rumanian, Serbian and New Zealand championships and in the Alpe Adria Championship and East European Championship. Starting from last year Pirelli is also the Sole Supplier in Japan of the Pirelli Cup 600 Challenge Series.

Generally speaking, in the European Championships envisaging the presence of several tyre manufacturers, Pirelli on average fits tyres to 70% of all the bikes on the starting grid, confirming the popularity of the Italian tyre brand with riders from all over the world.

All of the contained information is from a press release distributed directly from Pirelli.