3 different winners put Pirelli soft BSB tyre to test

Pirelli supplied three separate winners with its softer compound Superbike SC1 slick tyres on front and rear in a dramatic trio of Oulton Superbike races. BSB legend Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne took a historic 50th series win, while Josh Brookes and Alex Lowes also booked their places in the coveted Showdown, reserved for the top six riders to battle for the title. Pirelli racing manager Jason Griffiths commented: “We witnessed some fantastic racing over the weekend here at Oulton Park which produced three worthy winners. The crowd and TV viewers were certainly treated to some of the best racing I’ve seen and it was also great to again see five manufacturers in the top five at times. From our point of view it was fantastic to see race fastest laps logged so late in the races, again proving the performance and durability of the soft compound Superbike Diablo slicks.”

The seventh round of the BSB series again saw a day of dry racing, allowing all riders have exclusively used Pirelli Superbike slick rubber in race conditions throughout the season. The softer compound SC1 tyres were used front and rear by the vast majority of riders with only Peter Hickman plus the Buildbase BMW riders James Westmoreland and Jon Kirkham using the harder SC2 front tyre. 

Pirelli technicians pronounced themselves especially pleased with the durability of the Superbike slicks; the fastest laps of two of the three races were logged near full distance on laps 13 and 14. The four Japanese manufacturers all present on the podium and BMW in fifth in one race.

Pirelli Moto UK were also pleased to look after several motorcycle clubs with members of the Riders Association of Triumph (RAT), Kawasaki Riders Club and the Suzuki Owners Club all in attendance. Members were treated to hospitality in the race paddock with an insight into Pirelli’s involvement with BSB and the technology behind road tyres such as the company’s Angel GT Sport Touring tyres.

Going into the next round at Cadwell Park on 24-26 August, the BSB Championship standings are as follows:

1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 297 (33 podium credits)

2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 268 (21 podium credits)

3: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 243 (21 podium credits)

4: James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) 158 (11 podium credits)

5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) 142 (4 podium credits)

6: Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) 126 (0 podium credits)