Pirelli notes from Assen
Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director Pirelli Moto, sums up the third round of the 2012 WSBK Championship held at the TT Assen circuit in the Netherlands, from the point of view of the championship's official one-make tyre supplier.
"The Assen round was the scene of great excitement, providing very spectacular races for all WSBK enthusiasts with the contribution of extremely fickle weather conditions. In fact, rain showers alternated with sunshine, making tyre selection strategies fundamental. For Superbike, slick tyres were used for the first 13 laps of race 1 and almost all the riders opted for the SC1 (R300) solution on the rear, introduced for the first time this year during the Imola round as a development of the standard SC1, but more suitable for use in lower temperatures. After the race was red flagged due to rain, for the remaining 9 laps of race 1, on the other hand, the riders all used rain tyres.
Race 2, declared as a wet race even though it wasn't raining at the start, played some nasty tricks on a few riders, including Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) who, convinced that rain was on the way, decided to start with two rain tyres and was then forced to come into the pits to change tyres, mounting two slick solutions, but losing time and any possibility of another podium. This was certainly a weekend rich with satisfaction for Sylvain Guintoli and the Effenbert Liberty Racing team as well as for Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) who nailed the right solutions for both races.
My compliments also to Lorenzo Lanzi who surprised everyone in his debut Supersport race by taking the top step of the podium." Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director, Pirelli Moto
Pirelli BEST LAP Awards:
SBK Race 1 - Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing), 1'57.793 (Lap 9)
SBK Race 2 - Carlos Checa (Althea Racing), 1'38.092 (Lap 16)
Total BEST LAP (SBK): Checa C. (Althea Racing) 3, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1, Biaggi M. (Aprilia Racing Team) 1, Sylvain Guintolì (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) 1
WSS - Lorenzo Lanzi (Prorace Honda), 1'59.828 (Lap 17)
Total BEST LAP (WSS): Foret F. (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) 1, Parkes B. (Ten Kate Racing Products) 1, Lorenzo Lanzi (Prorace Honda) 1
STK1000 - Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Goldbet), 1'40.187 (Lap 6)
STK600 - Alex Schacht (Schacht Racing SBK ONE), 1'41.860 (Lap 9)
