It has been announced that the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa hypersport tyre will be used as the original equipment fitment for the new Ducati 899 Panigale.
The bike is being billed as the younger sister of the 1199 Panigale and will be on sale running on the Diablo Rosso Corsa 120/70 ZR17 front and 180/60 ZR17 rear.
Pirelli have commented that the recent launch at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola is an opportunity for them to confirm their leadership in this top range segment.
The Diablo Rosso Corsa is described as the most versatile hypersport tyre available, and has been developed for both modern faired and naked sport bikes. Pirelli has used it’s prestigious position in WSBK in order to develop and refine the latest in tyre technology in order to develop the Rosso Corsa.
The tyre’s profile stemmed from the manufacturer’s experience with WSBK and was designed specifically to ensure optimum distribution of power in the road surface contact area. The contact patch is wider and therefore with more of the tyre’s surface in contact with the road, more of the power can be transmitted through to the ground. Using Ideal Contour Shaping technology, an innovation dervived from a combination of the crafting skill of Pirelli engineers and the support of sophisticated computerised modelling systems, the Diablo Rosso Corsa provides excellent support when leaning in to corners and a great feeling of confidence when taking them at maximum acceleration.
The structure of the Diablo Rosso Corsa was designed to maximise the contact patch surface at any lean angle when cornering along with the distribution of pressure, allowing the tyre to provide exceptional levels of grip and stability. This is delivered using the Pirelli EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology) patent derived from their WSBK experience.
The Diablo Rosso Corsa’s tread design reduces the land/sea ratio without sacrificing the tyres ability to disperse water in the wet by using a patented solution which provides differentiation of longitudinal grooves from side grooves. The wall angle of the tread groove ensures an equal water flow throughout the tyre’s life because as the tyre wears, the less severe angle of the groove walls maintains consistent performance by avoiding tread edge deformation, along with a variable groove width for constant water dispersal right down to the last mile. Further to this, the tread patterns on both front and rear were designed incorporating FGD (Functional Groove Design) technology which guarantees racetrack performance as well as excellent control on wet surfaces.
In wet conditions, the front tyre cuts through the water in order to disperse it which then allows the rear tyre to provide adequate grip. Grooves are located on the rear tyre exactly where needed for an optimal balance between drainage and warm-up time with a 100% slick area at maximum lean to allow WSBK level grip in the corners. The transversal grooves between the rear tyre’s central and shoulder sections quickly disperse residual water, ensuring maximum grip when cornering in the wet and the central rib guarantees more rubber on the ground which when travelling in a straight line at high speeds provides more traction and stability.
The Diablo Rosso compound on the front tyre guarantees the rider maximum levels of support under hard braking and corner exit. The tyre maintains this impressive level of both high grip and high stiffness by using combined compounding tools which increase tread life and safety in the wet.
The rear tyre uses a three zone compound in order to offer the best levels of performance in a range of very different conditions. The compounds are differentiated between the shoulder and centre tread in order to ensure maximum grip in the corners by using softer compounds, and excellent durability and traction in the centre thanks to the use of harder compounds.
Pirelli have also tried to address the issue ot the ‘step’ by using a 100% Carbon Black compound on the shoulders which is less rigid and therefore warms up more quickly, in order to reduce the temperature differentiation between centre and shoulder compounds for a smoother transition from one to the other when leaning in to corners.
Finally you can now also personalise your tyres with special rubber labels which can be applied to reserved spaces on both the front and rear. Via the Pirelli website a rider can create their own label for these spots and have them delivered right to their front door!
