As is often the case, the scenario repeats itself: the cargo ship transporting the Pirelli tires intended for the opening of the Superbike World Championship It will only arrive at the port of Melbourne on the eve of FP1 and FP2 on Friday at Phillip Island. Therefore, how can the tests on Monday and Tuesday be organized?
De Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com
The problem, as in previous years, stems from unforeseen delays encountered by transport ships on maritime routes near the Middle East, a direct consequence of geopolitical tensions that show no sign of abating. To allow the teams to participate in the eight hours of testing, spread across four sessions between Monday, February 16th and Tuesday, February 17th, a last-minute air freight shipment was arranged. It contains over a thousand tires, enough to supply all the Superbike and Supersport teams for the testing activities. But one problem remains…
No experimental phase
Containers arriving by sea from Europe several weeks ago carry all the equipment for testing, official trials, and races in both world championship categories. This also includes a new Superbike rear tire solution, which the riders were supposed to try during testing but will only be available from Friday's practice sessions. For testing, only two solutions will be available: the SC1 and the 922, the latter having already been used last year.
The double problem
The delay of the cargo ship causes two major difficulties. First, it further complicates tire management at Phillip Island, which remains by far the most demanding circuit for tires. The three high-speed corners are a real torture for both the tires and the casings, due to both the exceptional mechanical wear and the internal temperatures that accumulate and severely stress the tire structure. It is no coincidence that, in recent years, the longer races of this round have been run with a mandatory pit stop for a tire change before the eleventh of the twenty scheduled laps.
But that's not all. The Superbike teams and riders are arriving in Australia with very few kilometers on the clock, due to the bad weather that disrupted development programs at both Jerez and Portimão at the end of January. Those who were a bit luckier are Yamaha, Bimota, Honda, and BMW, who were also present at the two days of testing at the end of November.
Lack of riding time is particularly problematic for those who need to learn a new motorcycle (Petrucci, Dixon, Virgin(to name just the most well-known), but also for those who still need to get a general idea of the machine, the tires, and even the Superbike itself, such as Miguel Oliveira, new BMW recruit. The delay also has serious consequences for Ducati, which is introducing the new Panigale V4 R with a double swingarm and a significant series of evolutions compared to the previous version.
The "snail" cargo ships thus add an extra dose of uncertainty to an opening round which is very likely to turn into a real unpredictable lottery.
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Paul Gozzi
