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PRESS RELEASEPirelli returns to Motorland Aragón,the first European round of the eni FIM World SuperbikeChampionship, where last year the new Diablo Superbike 17 inchtyres were christenedAfter the positive seasonal début in February in Australia where average race laptimes were reduced by 1 second compared to 2012, the new Pirelli tyres return toSpanish soil, where in 2012 Superbike riders tried them for the first time during atesting session to compare the racing performance with the old 16.5" tyresThe new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC tyres make their début, already used lastyear by Supersport riders and in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup and Superstock600 UEM European ChampionshipMotorland Aragón (Spain), 8 April 2013 – After the racing début at the end of Februaryon the Australian Phillip Island track, the new Pirelli Diablo Superbike 17 inch tyresreturn to Spain, to Motorland Aragón, where last year they were tested for the first timeby the Superbike riders during sessions held the Monday following the race weekend.In Australia, beyond the excellent times that were put on the boards, a realisticcomparison with the 16.5 inch predecessors was not possible due to the new asphalt.Therefore, the conditions the 17" tyres are called on to tackle at Motorland Aragón willconstitute the first direct comparison with the Diablo Superbike tyres used until lastyear.The first European round of the eni FIM World Superbike Championship will take placethis year on the Motorland Aragón track from 12 to 14 April.La Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, better known as Motorland Aragón, is a race tracklocated in Alcañiz a town in the Spanish community of Aragona with the same name.5,344 m long, the track was designed by the well known German architect HermannTilke and opened in 2009. It has hosted the World Superbike Championship since2011.Because this is the first European round, Motorland Aragón will also be the setting forthe annual launch of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup and Superstock 600 UEMEuropean Championship which this year will be using the same tyre used last year bythe Supersport class, the new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC.Unlike the Supersport class, where they are used in 120/70-17 on the front and180/60-17 on the rear with various compound solutions to which development solutionscan be added during the year, in Superstock 1000 the new Diablo Supercorsa SC willbe used only in the SC2 compound, both on the front 120/70-17 and the rear200/55-17, whereas for the Superstock 600 category they will be available in 120/70-17SC1 compound on the front and 180/60-17 SC2 compound for the rear.

Last but not least, Motorland Aragón will be the setting for the first race of theEuropean Junior Cup which will be raced this year on Honda CBR500R bikes shodwith Diablo Supercorsa tyres in SC1 compound for the front and SC2 for the rear.Motorland Aragón from a tyre point of view:The most important aspect to take into consideration at Motorland Aragón whenchoosing rear tyres in definitely the track's high tenor of aggressiveness. Primarily dueto the marked roughness of the surface and the medium-low temperatures which willprobably be found during the month of April, this is further intensified by the frequentpresence of sandy residue blown in by the wind. In fact, this residue that comes to reston the road surface, prevent the tyre tread from correctly contacting with the asphalt,causing loss of grip and drifting toward the centre in turns.This is why it is not uncommon to see heavy wear and cold tearing on the rear tyresduring the first sessions of the weekend and during warm-up. Precisely for this reason,when races are held at Aragón at the beginning or end of the championship season, inother words when temperatures are lower, the most possible protection is desirable,taking high mechanical resistance rear tyres (SC1 and SC2) and avoiding soft blendsthat would result in serious cold tearing and abrasion problems.The choice of front tyres, on the other hand, beyond the aggressiveness of the asphaltwhich has only a partial impact on their wear, must bear in mind another two keyaspects:- the first is the violent braking section on the straight stretch opposite the stretchadjacent to pit lane (the longest in the World Championship after the one atMonza, 1,212 metres) and the steep slopes that cause high stress on the front.Both require a large amount of support from the front in order to preventvibrations and movement going into turns. In this case, in order to overcomethese types of problems, the ideal solution for the front is definitely the SC2.- the second aspect, on the other hand, has to do with the fast turns and themultiple changes of direction, where excellent precision and grip on the surfaceare required. In order to reduce times to a minimum, the front compound gripcannot be neglected and this is why many riders prefer to use softer solutionslike the SC1 which provide better traction.Motorland Aragón from a technical point of view:“The Motorland Aragón track is one where we have raced so far only with withmoderately high temperatures in the months of June and July and which has ratherdemanding asphalt for the tyres because it is quite abrasive. For this reasoncompounds which are too soft, like the SC0 are not ideal on this track and the objectivefor us as tyre manufacturers is to find the right compromise between the stability andrigidity of the compounds and the grip they are able to produce when hot.” said GiorgioBarbier, Pirelli Moto Racing Director, “Coming back to this track will be quite achallenge for use because this is the first real comparison with the previous 16.5 inchtyres and the new 17 inch version, taking into consideration that since we are racing inApril and not in June and July the temperatures will certainly be lower and to counterthis we have brought a few development solutions which should be an excellentcompromise between tyre grip and hardness”.

Pirelli solutions for the Superbike and Supersport classes:As always, Pirelli provides the Superbike and Supersport riders with various solutionsfrom which to choose for both the front and the rear. Some are development solutionsand alternatives to the standard tyres. At Motorland Aragón the Superstock riders willalso be making their début and for the occasion Pirelli will bring a total of 4707 tyres.For the Superbike class Pirelli will provide three slick solutions for dry on the front andjust as many for the rear. These are joined by the rear qualifier that riders will be able touse in the three Superpole sessions on Saturday and the intermediate solutions (3available for the front and 4 for the rear) as well as wet solutions (8 for both the frontand the rear).On the front Pirelli has chosen standard slicks with an SC1 solution in a soft blend andthe SC2 standard solution in medium blend which are joined by a development solution(S41) in a soft blend as an alternative to the standard SC1 (R426) intended to reducecold tearing and to provide greater mechanical stability, a good compromise betweenthe SC2 for solidity and the SC1 in terms of grip.For the rear the riders will also be able to choose from three solutions, the standardSC1 (R828) medium compound already used at Phillip Island and the standard SC2hard compound which is capable of providing greater resistance even in the event oflow temperatures. The third option comes in the form of the R829, a developmentsolution that, in terms of compound hardness, falls about halfway between the standardSC1 and SC2 and which was designed to combat the significant wear which is typicalon this circuit.Also, for the first time the new intermediate tyre (S44) will be making an entrance onthe scene, available only for the rear on this occasion.With all the recent years of experience as sole supplier for the World SuperbikeChampionship, Pirelli decided to redesign the new Diablo Wet starting from scratch.The new tread design is halfway between the slick solutions and the rain solutions andwas designed to improve performance on a wet/damp track and to make sure riderscan finish the race in completely dry track conditions. The design was taken directlyfrom the one on the rain tyre, making changes of the percentage of fills/voids in order toguarantee water drainage in wet track conditions and at the same time provide moresurface to the compound in order to reduce stress, deformation and consequentlyoverheating. The new design also has a shoulder which is more full compared to thecentre of the tyre in favour of the different lean angles that can be reached on a wet ordry track. In other words, the Diablo Wet will be the ideal tyre to use if the race shouldbegin in wet track conditions, for example due to recent or diminishing precipitation(typical summer storm) and finish with the track in completely dry conditions or, viceversa, if the race should begin on a dry track with weather conditions that changeduring the race resulting in rain.This tyre will be particularly useful during the Championship since each rider can useonly one bike and if the weather conditions change during the race, from this year theywill be able to return to pit lane in order to change tyres (thanks to the "flag to flag" rule)but with the significant loss of time which will obviously result in such an operation. Inthis sense the Diablo Wet could be a valid racing strategy tool for those teams whodecide to use it.As regards Supersport, the riders will be able to choose a dry standard solution for thefront, the SC1 soft blend and the SC2 medium, and for the rear they will have threeSC1 solutions in medium compound, the standard one (R303) and two developmentsolutions: the R1610 which has a compound designed for grip similar to the SC1 butwith cold tearing resistance typical of an SC2 and the R787, more resistant to wear andwhich guarantees the mechanical stability of the compound.

The 2012 Pirelli statistics for Motorland Aragón:• Total number of tyres Pirelli brought: 4583• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate, wet and qualifier only for rear) for theSuperbike class: 5 front and 7 rear• Number of solutions for the Supersport class (dry, intermediate and wet): 4 front and5 rearNumber of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 35 front and 40 rear• Number of tyres available for each Supersport rider: 24 front and 28 rear• Superbike Best Lap Awards both won by Marco Melandri (BMW MotorradMotorsport) in 1'58.251 (Race 1, 6th lap) and in 1’58.950 (Race 2, 3rd lap)• Supersport Best Lap Awards won by: Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Lorenzini) in 2’03.300(2nd lap)• Temperature in Race 1: air 22° C, asphalt 32° C• Temperature in Race 2: air 25° C, asphalt 41° C• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli tyres: 332.9 km/h, Max Biaggi (Aprilia RacingTeam) in Race 2 on the 5th lapFor more information:Matteo Giusti +39 338 616 9251 matteo.giusti@pirelli.comFrancescopaolo Tarallo +39 334 684 4307 francescopaolo.tarallo@pirelli.comPirelli Tyre Press OfficeTel/Ph. +39 02 6442 4270 – pressoffice@pirelli.com – www.pirelli.com