Single-tire supplier to the World Superbike Championship, Pirelli has announced that the 2009 WSBK series is officially faster than the 2008 season. On an aggregate basis, the 2009 season was 20 seconds quicker in its measured race time than in 2008, which breaks down to each race winning lap being about 0.7 seconds faster than before.
For 2010 Pirelli is introducing a new high-performance streetbike tire, the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa. Replacing the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III, Pirelli intends the Diablo Rossa Corsa (DRC) to be the weapon of choice both on the track and on the street. With a pair of DCIII”s on our Ducati Streetfighter, we’re excited to see what the DRC brings to the table after hearing about the tire at EICMA this year.
At Monza this week, Pirelli will be debuting a new qualifying tire solution for the World Superbike Championship. Taking a page from what the 200mm qualifying tire will include markers that will help indicate what tires are being selected during the Superpole competition. Pirelli tires will sport non-permanent white “long P” markings and yellow lines, which have been imprinted on to the tire’s surface. These markings will offer spectators and presenters a way of identifying what is happening during the Superpole in regards to tire choices.
Pirelli’s Cyber Tire will provide real-time tire performance information via a chip/transponder setup embedded in the tire tread. The system will send and store a myriad of information such as: operating temperature, pressure, road conditions, and vertical load. The system will work in conjunction with another Pirelli invention, the Cyber Wheel, which will convey wheel information such as hub loads in a similar fashion. While the naming is gruesome, the potential for data logging and analysis could be extremely useful to racing and enthusiasts.
Pirelli has also partnered with Brembo and Magnetti Marelli on the Cyber Tire project. While details are not certain, we’d suspect the partnership would mean a system that quickly transfers information from the tire to the driver, car, and brakes, and allows for more informed and instantaneous performance changes based on driving conditions.
The technology’s use is centered around automobiles, but the mechanics and application could easily be carried-over into motorcycles. Just don’t hold you breath on seeing it soon though. The car version is expected in 2010, with no details on whether there will be a motorcycle version. As we are all well aware, motorcycle tires already cost considerably more than car/truck tires, and last an even shorter amount of time. Presumably the decreased longevity and added costs of the Cyber Tire/Cyber Wheel system would make the technology a bit harder to justify cost-wise in a motorcycle application outside of racing.
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