Pirelli gets lyrical:
Monza from a tyre point of view:
The length of the straight stretches, the sustained high speeds and violence of the braking zones place stress on the central part of the tyre with demands that no other track in the championship has. The Monza circuit, practically the only one of its kind in the world, is extremely demanding on the centre of the tyre section because of the long straight stretches and abrupt braking sections. Basically, the thermal energy developed at a zero lean angle both in acceleration and in braking is about 5 times greater than that developed at Assen.
Then there is the thermal demand on the right-hand shoulder which, especially in the Biassono turn, stays in a lean for a long time in acceleration, reaching thermal energy values on the shoulder that begin to approach the record levels of Phillip Island. The maximum peak on the right-hand shoulder touches 160° in the Biassono turn and coming out of the Parabolica. The tyre temperature hovers above 100° for 6 seconds in the Biassono and for 8 seconds in the Parabolica. As the bikes approach the Ascari section, which has two left-handers with chicanes, the left shoulder of the tyre is at very low temperature conditions.
On the starting stretch the bike's throttle stays wide open for 1.2 Km which last 18 seconds, soaring above 300 kph for about 350 metres which correspond to more than 4 seconds. At 250 metres from the first curve the riders lean hard on the brakes to manoeuvre through the right/left chicane, speed dropping an astonishing 250 kph and the brakes stay on for 300 metres that last 7 seconds, with thermal stress on the tyre 5 times greater than on any other circuit.
Then, after the first section we find the Biassono turn, a long right-hander with a wide radius of about 300 metres where the tyre stays at a 50° lean angle for 400 metres which last 7 seconds at a speed of 230 kph, thermally stressing the right shoulder which reaches more than 100° for 6 seconds, touching peaks of 160°, significant energy which is exceeded only in the last turn at Phillip Island.
After the second Lesmo turn, the temperature on the right shoulder is 70° higher than the left. On the Curva del Serraglio, the Pirelli tyre's special structure quickly makes up this difference, coming into the Ascari turn with a difference of just 15°. Here, without ever dropping below 100 Km/h, the tyre reaches angles of about 55° on the left-hand side, then moving to 55° on the other side with a drop into the lean angle at rates of up to 100° per second. The balance of the two sides helps exit from the last turn, to rocket towards the Parabolica braking zone where the tyre's right shoulder temperature will stay above 100° for 8 seconds.
Monza from a technical point of view:
"For Pirelli the Monza round is always considered as a home round because our main headquarters are just a few kilometres from the race track" said Pirelli Moto Racing Director Giorgio Barbier "By now it is well known that this track, together with the Australian circuit, is by far the most demanding where tyres are concerned because of the sustained high speeds and the violence of the braking sections. These are characteristics that stress the central part of the tyre section in a way that none of the other tracks in the World Superbike Championship do. Basically, the thermal energy developed at a zero lean angle both in acceleration and in braking is about 5 times greater than that developed at Assen.
Furthermore, the thermal demand on the right-hand shoulder where, especially in the Biassono turn, the tyre stays in a lean for a long time in acceleration, reaching thermal energy values on the shoulder that approach the record levels of Phillip Island. These issues are further complicated by problems in terms of the unpredictable weather conditions which gave us a taste last year of the problems that they can create, although this year we are confident that we can take on even the worst track conditions thanks to the new intermediate design. In past years, specifically to handle the critical issues I just mentioned, we have always developed 16.5 inch tyres that had characteristics of not only a more resistant blend in the central section, but also with an oversized profile. This year the biggest challenge was to create similar, but improved solutions compared to the predecessors, still staying at the 17 inch sizes."
