World Superbike rider takes to off-season tracks on Pirelli

World Superbike rider, Sylvain Guintoli has spent the off-season riding in the UK on his own Ducati 1198SP road bike fitted with treaded Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tyres. The Team Effenbert Liberty Racing rider, who was born in France but now lives in the West Midlands with his British wife, decided to get out on track on his own tyres. Guintoli competed in the British Superbike Championship last year, and the rider decided to return to a cold Snetterton in January, and tackled Mallory and Oulton Park in March.

“I knew we wouldn’t get much testing over winter with the Effenbert Liberty team so I thought I’d use my road bike for a few laps at UK tracks to keep my eye in and regain some bike fitness,” said Guintoli. “I thought I might have been a bit optimistic with the English weather but I was very lucky; 12°C in January. I couldn’t believe how well the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC2 tyres worked – I was on my own road bike and at Mallory I was between 2-3 seconds off the lap record! They have a really fast warm up time and kept the heat well, something that is very important in the cold weather.
 
“It was great fun doing these trackdays – obviously I was respectful to the other guys out there but I think some of the racers couldn’t believe they were being overtaken by a road bike, maybe they felt better when they realised who it was!”
 
The Diablo Supercorsa range of tyres contain technology drawn from Pirelli’s racing experience as the sole tyre supplier to the World Superbike Championship since 2004. The treaded tyre is designed for trackday riders and racers. They are available in the following sizes – front: 110/70ZR17, 120/70ZR17; rear: 150/60ZR17, 160/60ZR17, 180/55ZR17, 180/60ZR17 and 190/55ZR17 as well as 200/55ZR17.