SBK, Tyre mystery: Pirelli speaks up

The scary incident between Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea took most of the attention in yesterday's race 1, but the tyre issue is far from resolved. Michael Van Der Mark's crash was unusual and the rider himself explained how it wasn't his fault he fell.

So did the tyre come off the wheel? Yes, as confirmed by Andrea Dosoli in his interview with us, but the situation is very different to what happened at Donington with Jonathan Rea. The tyre in question (the non-development SC0) has not been withdrawn and Pirelli immediately stated, with a release, that the problems for the Dutchman have little to do with what happened to the world champion.

“Completely different damage from what was found on Jonathan Rea’s tyre, with it being understood that these are also two different solutions. It is obviously of primary interest to us to understand what caused this damage to the tyre, so over the coming hours and days we will be conducting the appropriate in depth investigations for this case in our laboratories", the words of Giorgio Barbier after the incident.

The Pirelli “Counter-offensive” didn't end there though, as the Italian manufacturer asked all manufacturers to bring their tyres back to the production area, to be re-lubricated before being mounted. A unique decision, in response to a move made by certain manufacturers during the season. Pirelli suspects that certain manufacturers are treating the wheels differently, using paints and other solutions to prevent the tyre sliding on the wheel. Kawasaki began to use this method at the start of the season, while Yamaha started as of the Misano round; at Donington, the tyre problem was suffered by a man in green (Rea), while at Misano it's a man in blue (Van Der Mark).

Add to this the fact that various teams, including the aforementioned two, have imposed a 'dry' tyre assembly on Pirelli, or rather assembly without soap or other liquids that should help the tyre to slide on the wheel. An action that, according to Pirelli, will have the opposite effect, or rather a deterioration from the inside towards the outside, causing things like cuts or holes in the tyre.

The debate goes on, and race 2 may already bring a new chapter...