Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP fitted to Ducati 1199 Panigale

Pirelli’s new Diablo Supercorsa SP (Sport Production) will be fitted to Ducati’s 195hp 1199 Panigale in 120/70 ZR17 (front) and the new 200/55 ZR17 rear size. Pirelli says the tyre’s SC – “Special Compound” – version will be used by Superstock 1000 FIM Cup riders this season. The announcement was made at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, the scene of the company’s recent 2012 season Formula One tyre launch.

The newest Diablo tyre was introduced for the first time at EICMA 2011 in the brand’s first PZero Moda flagship store, which opened last September in Milan. At Yas Marina, three-time World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss and Ducati Vehicle technical director Andrea Forni tested the tyres in the race replica SP and SC version. Baylis, who won his World Superbike Championship riding the Borgo, Panigale-based manufacturer in 2001, 2006 and 2008, said: “If the SP version won me over with the fluid neutrality that accompanies each manoeuvre, even the most extreme ones, the SC2 compound version brought me back to an absolute total racing feel.”

The tyre allows riders to attack curves in braking with extreme neutrality until reaching the apex through increased grip and stability, according to Pirelli. Engineer, Forni followed up Bayliss’ comments: “The new Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres in this 200/55 version are without a doubt the best street legal racing tyres in the world at the moment and I must say the best that I have ever had the opportunity to test in my career.”

Pirelli decided to introduce the new tyre gradually into the top racing world with only the SC2 compound version which will be used in Superstock 1000 FIM Cup starting this year and only in sizes 120/70 ZR17 for the front and 200/55 ZR17 for the rear as standard original equipment on the 1199 Panigale. It is, however, already available on the market as a replacement tyre.

At the beginning of 2013 Pirelli will expand the SP street range with 180/55, 190/50 and 190/55 sizes for the rear and will make the SC0 and SC1 compounds available for the SC version as well as 150/60, 160/60, 180/55, 180/60, 190/55 sizes for the rear and 110/70 for the front in order to extend use of the new tyre to national championships.
 
Ducati Motor Holding general director, Claudio Domenicali said: “Great credit certainly… goes to the tyres that Pirelli developed in close cooperation with Ducati. The new Diablo Supercorsa SP demonstrated performance and extremely high and consistent riding levels even in the difficult conditions represented by a demanding track and high test temperatures like the ones at Yas Marina. These are difficult conditions that, together with the particular asphalt grade brought out the quality of the tyres even more. This is even more confirmation of just how effective the cooperation between Ducati and Pirelli is in setting increasingly high levels of quality.”
 
Pirelli’s Research and Development division received Ducati’s Best Product Innovation Award on 7 November, 2011 for the development of the Scorpion Trail tyre for Ducati Multistrada and the Diablo Rosso II in the new 240/45 size for the Ducati Diavel.
 
“The new Diablo Supercorsa SP is certainly the highest performance street legal racing tyre ever designed by Pirelli”, said Uberto Thun-Hohenstein, senior vice president of the Pirelli Motorcycle Business Unit, “and the signals we are receiving from Abu Dhabi confirm the excellent work that our research and development has done, successfully improving a product, the Diablo Supercorsa, that so far has won 65 victories in 18 countries in national and international open tyre championships. We are also very proud of the solid and lasting technological and development partnership with Ducati who, after the tyres for Multistrada, Diavel and Streetfighter 848, are providing us with great satisfaction even with this new product which confirms Pirelli’s leadership in the premium segment and its constant commitment to investing in innovation”.

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