The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which hosts the eighth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship, is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar for tires
TIRE OPTIONS FOR THIS CIRCUIT
– Next weekend, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host the eighth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship. This is a historically demanding circuit for tires and for Pirelli, this round will be an excellent opportunity to further test the development solutions introduced in recent events.
– There are four solutions for the front, in fact the standard SC1 is joined by 3 development solutions: the A1 development SC0674 (SC1A) and the A1 development SC0843 (SC1B) are both well known to pilots while the SC1 in B0570 specification is more recent. The latter was in fact tested for the first time by the drivers of the official teams right here in Barcelona in August, before making its racing debut at Magny-Cours. Given that it is a particularly soft compound, Pirelli has decided that for the Barcelona round it can only be used for qualifying and the Superpole race, thus giving it the role of an SCQ but for the front. At the rear, the standard SC0 and SCX are flanked by the development SCX B0800, which enjoyed considerable success when it debuted at Magny-Cours.
– WorldSSP riders will be able to choose between the standard SC1 or SC2 up front, and between the SCX or SC0 at the rear.
– Inaugurated in 1992, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is 4,627 kilometers long and has 14 turns, eight right and six left. It is a very technical circuit with wide and fast curves, straights and several climbs and descents. A circuit that puts the rider, the motorcycle and the tires to the test because it is characterized by very brutal braking, particularly during the first braking after the finish line which follows a very long and very fast straight line where speeds considerable peaks are reached.
George Barbier, Motorcycle Competition Director: “
The Barcelona circuit is quite demanding on the tires, we also noticed this during the private tests carried out in August. Its layout makes it a perfect testing ground because it offers a little bit of everything, especially in the final sector which is very technical and where it is important to better manage the tires. This is therefore the right place to check the latest development solutions that we have brought in previous rounds in order to test their strengths and limits. We already know, having tested it in August, that the new B0570 front solution is too soft to be used during long races on this circuit, however we have decided to make it available to drivers for qualifying and possibly for the Superpole race by assigning him, on this occasion, a role of front SCQ. At the end of the race, we will certainly have collected useful data on the behavior of our tires in difficult conditions like those of this circuit. »
