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With a lineup of popular choices for sport bike enthusiasts, Pirelli is now bringing out the next generation of its street-focused tires, debuting the Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV.

As the name implies, the tire is the successor to the venerable Diablo Rosso III, which is billed as a performance street tire for sport bike riders, suitable for mixed weather conditions and higher mileage uses.

The Rosso III sat below the Diablo Rosso Corsa II tire (one of our favorite street tires) in terms of performance, with the DRC2 being a street tire that also performs well on the race track.

Dorna Motor Sports has announced a new race series aimed promoting young racers and helping them start their racing careers.

The new race league is called the FIM MiniGP World Series, and it is a novel approach to finding young racing talent, ages 10 to 14, around the globe.

The concept is simple: Dorna and the FIM have created a standardized racing format that clubs at the national, regional, and continental levels can adopt, which  creates a level playing field for young racers to make their mark.

Call it the Italian connection, as brake-maker Brembo has just bought a chunk of shares in Pirelli. As such, the move sees Brembo taking a 2.43% in the Italian tire brand.

Despite the surprise of the headline, the transaction has not a complete surprise to those following the actions of Brembo, as the braking brand announced last year its plans to go shopping in the corporate M&A realm.

Matteo Tiraboschi, Brembo’s Executive Deputy Chairman, even signaled last year that the the company’s appetite for acquisition could be as large Brembo itself.

Why is the Suzuka 8-Hours dominated by Bridgestone tires? During last year’s edition, Michael Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli sat down with Asphalt & Rubber to explain why Bridgestone is the preferred tire of choice at Suzuka.

Even the most talkative factory riders get tight lipped when the topic of tires is raised. After taking nine tenths of a second off the unofficial lap record, Jonathan Rea was asked to compare the feeling with Bridgestone tires compared to the Pirelli rubber used in WorldSBK.

The triple world champion side-stepped that landmine with customary ease by saying “they're both very high performance tires.”

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In Episode 5 of the MOTR Podcast, I sit down with Oscar Solis, the Road Race Manager of Pirelli Tires North America, during a track test at the Circuit of the Americas, as such you will hear the occasional MotoGP bike fire by us on the track.

Our topic of conversation is  simple one: tires. Though, the conversation itself is anything but simple. Tires are perhaps the most important element on a motorcycle, but also one of the least understood, which is why I wanted to have this discussion with Oscar.

And so the season ends for WorldSBK. The weather finally behaved at Jerez, and the four WorldSBK teams and three WorldSSP teams got a full day of testing in at Jerez.

Or rather, nearly a full day of testing: the track opened at 10am, but the riders didn’t go out for about 45 minutes, as cold track temperatures made it a perilous undertaking in those early minutes.

But the sun soon did its work, heated the asphalt, and away they went.

What would life be without another “limited edition” model from MV Agusta? This installment sees another collaboration between two Italian motorcycle stalwarts, as MV Agusta has partnered with Pirelli to create the MV Agusta Dragster 800 RR Pirelli.

At the core of the project is the MV Agusta Dragster 800 RR, with its three-cylinder engine that makes 140hp in stock trim, and was recently updated for the 2018 model year because of Euro4 homologation.

From there, the Pirelli machine is a cosmetic exercise, taking the freshly updated Dragster 800 RR streetfighter model, and adding design elements created by the Pirelli Design team.

These highlights include two models, one done in yellow and black, while the other is in a white and blue livery.

What's the difference between you and me? The Suzuka 8-Hours is dominated by Bridgestone tire. Why is that? And what is the difference between a Bridgestone a Pirelli, and a Michelin at this iconic race?

Even the most talkative factory riders get tight-lipped when the topic of tires is raised. Jonathan Rea was asked after securing pole position for tomorrow's Suzuka 8-Hours about the feeling he has with Bridgestone tires, compared to using Pirelli rubber in WorldSBK.

The three-time world champion sidestepped that landmine with customary ease by saying, “both are very high performance tires.” It was a similar situation when talking with MotoGP riders about comparing to Michelin tires in recent years. There are, however, some outliers in the paddock.

Riders with experience of Bridgestone, Pirelli, and Michelin tires, and who are able to speak about the contrasts.

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Episode 82 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and in it we talk mostly about track days, new riders, and the mental process of going fast on a motorcycle.

The show isn’t so much of a how-to for track days, as it is more of an hour-long philosophical discussion about riding motorcycles around a race track.

From there, we finish up with some news items, like Dani Pedrosa’s retirement, Yamaha’s mid-sized Niken, the lack of a Triumph Daytona 765, Ducati Streetfighter V4 rumors, a duo of new Kawasaki sport bikes (ZX-6R & ZX-10RR), BMW’s new superbike, and some racing gossip.

Lastly, we remember William Dunlop and James Cowton, who lost their lives road racing recently. Our thoughts are with their family and friends.

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We hope you will join the conversation, and leave us some audio comments at our new email address: twoenthusiasts@gmail.com.