Softer BSB compounds to have their day at Oulton Park, predicts Pirelli

After the fast, abrasive Thruxton surface, the British Superbike series moves to Oulton Park where the more flowing nature of the circuit and make-up of the asphalt means softer Pirelli Diablo Superbike tyres may well be effective.

Reigning BSB Champion Tommy Hill will be looking to chalk up his first victory of the campaign in this triple header event, since he dominated last year’s event before separating his shoulder. The often battered Hill destroyed his rivals through each practice session, setting the fastest ever time around Oulton Park with a 1.35.175 in final qualifying, using a soft Diablo Superbike ‘SC0’ rear Pirelli tyre. He was then chronically unlucky in morning warm-up to crash on oil dropped by another rider’s machine, resulting in injury and no race starts. However the grid positions for the first race on Sunday (which was postponed from Brands Hatch) are already determined and Hill faces a tough start from row five.
 
The three winners so far in this ultra-competitive series (Ian Lowry, Josh Brookes and Jon Kirkham) also head the Championship scoreboard, an order that would have been incredibly hard to foresee before the season started. If anything it was predicted by many to have been a battle between Hill, double BSB champ Shayne Byrne and the man in form during testing, Michael Laverty. But that as they say, is racing.
 
With Thruxton race winners Lowry and Brookes both passing Hill in the later stages of each race in part due to their choice of the harder SC2 compound rear Pirelli, the opposite may well be the case at Oulton. Pirelli UK racing manager Jason Griffiths explains; “Whereas the hardest SC2 option proved victorious twice at Thruxton, we believe that the combination of Oulton Park and May ambient temperatures should see the SC1 rear slick move strongly into play, in terms of grip and durability. In qualifying last year Tommy set the fastest ever lap here with a SC0 so again times will be interesting to view.”
 
In 2011 the fastest lap of Race 1 went to Ryuichi Kiyonari with a 1.36.041 second lap and race two to Jon Kirkham (1.36.049) in cool but dry conditions.
 
With changeable conditions forecast, riders will have a choice of Pirelli Diablo Rain for the worst of the British weather, Diablo Superbike ‘slicks’ if race day is dry and intermediate Diablo Wet tyres if there is a mixture of conditions. Superbike competitors have three options of ‘slick’ rear tyre; SC0 (softest), SC1 (medium) and SC2 (hardest), and for the front; SC1 and SC2 variations.