Updated Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP Is Stock On Ducati 1299 Panigale, Panigale R

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

From a Pirelli press release:

Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP have proven themselves once more to be the new reference point in the racing tire segment for street use and the first choice for the ultra high performance bikes recently introduced to the market by the most prestigious motorcycle manufacturers. In fact, the brand new Ducati 1299 Panigale, 1299 Panigale S and Panigale R will come with these hypersport tires as original equipment in 120/70 ZR17 on the front and 200/55 ZR17 on the rear.

Diablo Supercorsa SP is a concentration of technology which draws from Pirelli’s racing experience and heritage as sole supplier of the World Superbike Championship since 2004, based on an ideal procedure of transferring sport technology to high performance street legal products. This street tire, designed for professional riders and for bikers who have a sport street riding style but also love the track, provides racing performance typical of track-only products, allowing the user to have one ultra high performance product that can be used on the street or the track without having to make compromises. Compared to the compound version SC which is for track use, the Diablo Supercorsa SP offers a bi-compound rear tire in order to better adapt to street use, as well as more regular wear which favors mileage.

Diablo Supercorsa SP has a profile on the front and rear which, compared to the 190/55 version, for example, is taller with about 2 mm more cord and about 4 mm more central diameter for greater support during braking and to make riding more intuitive and holding the line more precise. The rear tire has been designed and developed to increase the contact area and have more grip while leaning. The harmony of the front and rear profiles therefore ensures greater handling and agility.

The rear 200/55 size of the Diablo Supercorsa SP implements a bi-compound solution in order to permit both increased mileage and more grip while leaning. EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology) has also made it possible to use 23% more soft compound in the shoulder area (compared to the previous Diablo Supercorsa SP version) which now accounts for the 33% of the pattern extension on each side, guaranteeing better grip in mid to full lean. Finally, new polymers used for the SP compound helps achieving an earlier warm-up and improved grip in all conditions.

The performance of the compounds is further enhanced by an aggressive single element tread pattern, which revolves six times on the tire surface. The result is that the “naked” area of the slick shoulders is 24% wider compared to the previous Diablo Supercorsa, increasing contact area and grip. The long longitudinal grooves, expanding from the central area to the shoulder, improve wear regularity especially under severe usage and helps draining the water lying on the ground.

The solutions adopted for the compound (soft compound area 23% larger) and the tread (greater extension of the slick area on the shoulders) guarantee a significant increase in grip and traction, allowing the motorcycle to maintain a higher speed during leans. This made it necessary to use a structure, derived directly from the ones used in competition and able to provide greater resistance to deformation. This is why the Diablo Supercorsa SP rear tire has a carcass made from an innovative high module fiber, patented by Pirelli and developed in WSBK, with a considerably lower deformation ratio than the fiber normally used in street tires. The result is a carcass which is more rigid, both at the center and in the shoulder area. This provides greater resistance to the stress created by aggressive cornering or when accelerating early out of turns with the bike still in a leaning position.

The Diablo Supercorsa SP lets you personalize your tire with special rubber labels that can be applied to dedicated spaces on the front and rear sidewalls. Each rider can create a completely customized label for these spots on the Pirelli web site and have them delivered directly to their door.

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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