Pirelli has decided to bring softer rear tires, compared to those chosen in 2022, for the Indonesian round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, the second on the calendar after the launch round in Australia.
In light of the data collected in November, when the last race took place in Mandalika, Pirelli was able to verify that the new asphalt is not excessively abrasive but can reach quite high temperatures. Soft rear solutions are therefore the ideal choice as they are able to guarantee better grip. For this reason, this year the medium solution SC1 is no longer present in the rear tire allocation and instead the extra soft solution SCQ has been included, which will be used in the Superpole and, if the conditions are suitable, also in the Superpole race.
World SBK
Avant : The new 2023 standard solutions are confirmed, medium SC1 and hard SC2. Given that Mandalika is a circuit that puts stress on the front tire, last year the SC2 solution was by far the most used.
Back : Three options, two of which can be used at any time and one only for qualifying and the Superpole Race. Those available throughout the weekend are the super soft SCX-A (development specification. B0800) and the soft SC0, the latter being the most chosen last year. For the Superpole and Superpole Race there will also be the extra soft SCQ, which is also standard.
WorldSSP
Riders will have the standard SC1 and SC2 at the front, while at the rear they can choose between the standard SCX and SC0. In 2022, SC1 was the most used choice up front in Race 1, while SC2 was the most used choice in Race 2. At the rear, the most used option was SC0.
« Last year, the resurfacing work on the Mandalika circuit was completed a few days before the round and, not knowing the characteristics of the new asphalt, we decided to also bring rear tires that were a little more conservative from a point of view. wear: the selection was made up of the SCX B0800, SC0 and SC1. However, we have seen that the SC1 was practically never chosen because with high asphalt temperatures it was not able to offer the grip that on the contrary the SC0 was able to guarantee, which is why the latter was chosen for the races. For this year we have decided to confirm the SC0 and SCX B0800 by adding the SCQ for qualifying and the Superpole race. At the front, the SC1 and SC2 are also confirmed. We will therefore rely almost exclusively on standard tires that all motorcyclists can regularly purchase on the market. Right now in Indonesia it's the rainy season, so the wet tires already used in Australia could come back into action. »
