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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid have their challenges laid out for them: a grid stacked full of talented riders, mounting pressure as the season progresses into its latter half, and a new circuit entirely new for most of the field. Arming them to face these challenges, Pirelli have unveiled their solutions to the unique problems faced by Balaton Park Circuit’s unique layout.

WORLDSBK REAR TYRE ALLOCATIONS: Return of Portimao’s E0125 development tyre

For WorldSBK’s long race tyre selection, both rear options will be comprised of a soft compound, first, eight of the standard SC0 tyres, joined by eight of the E0125 development tyre, which debuted earlier this season at Portimao, where it was the most selected tyre across all three races. Additionally, the SCR1 and intermediate full-wet tyres will be available for both front and rear.

WORLDSBK FRONT TYRE ALLOCATIONS: the developmental E0479 tyre returns after Misano debut

For the front tyre allocation, teams will have access to nine SC1 medium and eight SC2 hard front tyres; For Free Practice, Tissot Superpole sessions and Superpole Races, four development specification E0479 extrasoft tyres will be available for each rider. Debuted two rounds ago at Misano, the tyre was a hit, utilised by three-quarters of the grid in the Superpole Race.

WorldSSP ALLOCATIONS: Two tyre options per axle

For the FIM Supersport World Championship’s riders, they will take on the new Balaton Park Circuit with their options remaining unchanged from previous rounds. WorldSSP will have access to the SC1 and SC2 front options, paired with SCX or SC0 on the rear.

BARBIER EXPLAINS PIRELLI’s SELECTION PROCESS: “Due to the lack of data and reliable information, we decided to approach this round with caution”

Pirelli Motorcycle Racing Director Giorgio Barbier spoke on Pirelli’s decision to outfit the grid with the solutions listed above, saying: “We return to racing in Hungary after 35 years, a welcome comeback on the calendar and an important event for all motorsport fans in Central Europe. We have no direct experience on this track, but some riders have already tested it, and from what has emerged, the level of abrasiveness does not appear particularly high. That said, those tests were carried out with standard road bikes, so we’ll need to see how the surface behaves with full race-spec machines, which are more powerful and technically different. Due to the lack of data and reliable information, we decided to approach this round with caution, offering WorldSBK riders a range of rear solutions, starting with the standard soft SC0 they already know well and can use as a benchmark, then moving to the E0125, which, thanks to its new structure, could offer better performance. It was a great success at Portimao, where it became the most used tyre of the weekend, and we believe it could also prove useful at Balaton. We’ve also included the E0479 extrasoft, a tyre that showed promising results in terms of feedback and performance at Misano.”

Tune in this weekend to see who comes out on top and be sure not to miss the special commemoration of WorldSBK’s 1000^th race, celebrated before Sunday morning’s Tissot Superpole race at 11:00 local time (UTC +2)! Watch live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! now 65% off!