GETTING A GRIP ON THE ASBK TYRE WAR The battle between opposing tyre manufacturers has been an intriguing sub-plot of the 2021 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance ASBK, presented by Motul, and the upcoming round at Hidden Valley is set to present the teams with new challenges for how they manage their rubber allocation for the weekend. In the most recent round at Wakefield Park, the race victories were shared between Pirelli (Wayne Maxwell) and Troy Herfoss (Michelin), but the Hidden Valley event will throw up a variety of curve-balls. The increased ambient and track temperatures are an obvious factor, along with Superbike riders and teams choosing not to conduct preevent testing at Darwin in the lead-up to the race meeting. We caught up with representatives from the four ASBK tyre homologation suppliers in the tyre war: Pirelli, Dunlop, Michelin and Bridgestone. Garry Crilly – Pirelli (Link International) Pirelli tyres are renowned for their performance and durability on the international stage, with the Italian brand servicing the FIM Superbike World Championship as the official tyre supplier. Teams and riders running Pirelli tyres include DesmoSport Ducati (Mike Jones and Oli Bayliss), Craig McMartin Racing (Wayne Maxwell), Next Gen Motorsports (Glenn Allerton and Lachlan Epis), Matt Walters, Ant West and Arthur Sissis.
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Garry Crilly said the performance of Pirelli tyres in the scorching European summer heat can give the Pirelli-shod teams a wealth of confidence heading to Darwin. “Our tyres are the same ones used in the FIM Superbike World Championship,” Crilly said. “The heat doesn’t worry us – our tyres have been tried and proven in the sweltering heat, so the hotter, the better! “The more significant challenge for the teams will be the lack of testing, as they chose not to visit Darwin in the lead-up to the event. The Friday practice sessions will be particularly important.”
