The series of records broken by Pirelli in the world championships Moto2™ and Moto3™ continues. During the Catalan GP, held at the Montmelò circuit, Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike slicks once again helped break historic track and race lap records in both categories, also significantly reducing race times. global.
En Moto2™, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) took victory after a spectacular comeback from tenth place on the grid. Another victory, his fourth this year, went to David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO), which firmly leads the Moto3™ standings with 118 championship points.
“We are undoubtedly extremely satisfied with the performance of our tires this weekend and I think the teams and drivers share this satisfaction as well. Everyone knows that the Montmeló circuit is quite a demanding track in terms of tires due to the low grip and that it is difficult for the front tires, so this difficult setting only makes the results achieved even more impressive. Thanks in part to the performance of our tires, many records have been set, but the most impressive thing is to see how many of these records have been broken, because it is not about saving a little time, but rather about achieve radically better times than in the past. The new all-time record was broken by over a second in Moto2 and an incredible 1,5 seconds in Moto3. In Moto2, the new race lap record is more than a second faster than the previous one, with 12 riders having broken the old record. In Moto3 he was beaten by 1,5 seconds and no less than 17 riders broke the previous lap record. And then there are the overall race times. The Moto2 race was run 18 seconds faster than in 2023 and the Moto3 35 seconds faster, an average of almost 2 seconds per lap faster than in 2023. These are significant numbers that clarify the idea of the kind of progress made compared to previous years and we are convinced that throughout the year the teams and drivers will continue to improve by getting to know our tires better and better. »
Moto2 ™
– The choice of the drivers was unanimous for the rear tire. Everyone found themselves on the starting grid with the soft SC0. Front tire choice was more varied, with about half of the 32 riders on the soft SC1 and the other half on the medium SC2. All three riders on the podium used the soft SC1 at the front.
Pirelli Catalonia
- Japanese Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) won the race, which consisted of 21 laps, in 36'33.540, almost 18 seconds better than in 2023, with an average improvement per lap of around 9 tenths and temperatures of asphalt 10°C higher than in 2023.
– Before falling, Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) set the new race lap record with a time of 1'42.688 on the second lap, beating the old one by more than a second, which had been set by Raul Fernandez in 2021 (1). In addition to the Spaniard, eleven other drivers completed at least one lap faster than the previous track record time.
Moto3™
– With asphalt temperatures close to 40°C, most drivers on the grid opted for tires in the medium SC2 compound for the front and rear. In fact, 19 out of 27 riders chose this combination and 25 of them wore the SC2 up front. David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO), winner of the race, and Ivan Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSI/KTM), author of pole position and second place, also chose the SC2 medium for both axles.
– Only 6 drivers used the soft rear SC1, including Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Husqvarna) and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM) who, starting from second and third respectively on the starting grid, finished fourth and third.
Pirelli Catalonia
– The race (overall time 32'25.084) was run almost 35 seconds faster than the 2023 race (33'00.945), with an average improvement per lap of almost 2 seconds.
- Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM), running SC2 tires front and rear, set the new race lap record with a time of 1'46.748 on the penultimate of 18 total laps, breaking the previous record of almost 1,5 seconds which had been established by Darryn binder in 2021 (1). A total of 48.209 drivers fell below the previous lap record in track racing.
