The SP front is Pirelli ’ s first with a dual compound and cap / base compound construction . A 20mm centre band runs underneath the side bands of the tyre , allowing for better heat dissipation . That centre band is a strip of 100 % silica compound , while the side compound is the 100 % carbon black SC3 compound offering thermal stability with excellent centre grip . The rear tyre is also a cap and base construction , but all in carbon black to deal with the heat generated by cornering and acceleration . As the SP is supposed to work on both road and track , Pirelli ’ s engineers gave it a new shape that works at both standard road pressures and also at track pressures , so no need to drop pressures much when you get to the track ( 2.32 bar front pressure and 2.2 bar rear pressure for the track ) or when you leave at the end of the day . According to Pirelli , the SP v4 is 0.5s a lap quicker over a 2m lap than the v3 .
INSIDE THE SC The SC is a pure track tyre , for racers and trackday addicts . Silvio Frare , Pirelli ’ s head of motorcycle product management , explained that SC
originally stood for Special Compound , and that the current tyres are a huge leap forward in grip and durability . Silvio says a tyre that could only be used for the duration of practice 10 years ago can now last a whole race . That ’ s a huge development in durability . The SC differs from the SP in that the front and rear are available in a range of compounds and are of a single compound construction . In the front tyres , there are the SC1 , SC2 and SC3 compounds . SC1 offering the best contact feeling , so the rider can tell how far they are from sliding ( understeering ). The SC2 is for when you want stability and consistency in the contact patch and grip . SC3 is for durability and endurance , but has less grip performance than the others . For the rear there ’ s a choice of SC1 , SC2 and SC3 . SC1 is for medium to high operating temperature and smoother tarmac . SC2 is for aggressive tarmac and when it ’ s harder to keep the tyre operating temperature up ( such as colder conditions ). SC3 is a durable tyre specifically for club racers and track-dayers , able to deal with multiple heat cycles and is easy to use without tyre warmers .
34 KIWI RIDER