Following a number of incidents across both the Superbike and Supersport classes at Phillip Island, the championship have announced that they will be introducing pre-race pressure checks.
Several blow-outs occurred during practice and in race one, with several riders also reporting a loss of grip as the opening race progressed including reigning champion Jonathan Rea.
Phillip Island is especially harsh on tyres, with the high-speed last corner generating huge amounts of heat on one side of the tyre as the riders sit at full lean.
Pirelli tested a number of riders at random ahead of the second race at the weekend, with four of the nine riders found to be below the minimum 1.6 bar pressure recommended by the Italian tyre maker.
“It is clear that if a tyre is not inflated properly, it cannot work well and this, lap after lap, can trigger problems, especially on a particularly critical and sensitive track like Phillip Island,” comments Pirelli’s Giorgio Barbier. “For this reason, Dorna and FIM, in agreement with Pirelli and starting from this round, have implemented a pressure control procedure a few minutes prior to the start, selecting a few riders at random.”
As of the Aragon round, riders who do not observe the minimum tyre pressure will be sanctioned under new regulations.
