British Superbikes: Q&A with Pirelli boss Guglielmo Fiocchi

Just how big is the control tyre deal for Pirelli? The answer: big enough to send the MD of the entire motorcycling department to check out British Superbikes for himself.

We spoke to Pirelli’s Moto MD and Senior Vice President of the company, Gugliemo Fiocchi, to get some background on why the manufacture was so desperate to land the British Superbike deal.

Q: What are your first impressions of British Superbike Racing?

“I’m very excited about being here. I’ve been very impressed by the organisation of British Superbikes; the teams, the riders, the organisers, the television, everything.

“It’s proved to me that it was the right decision for us to come into BSB.

“It’s a positive feeling to be working with a very professional partner. 

“I want to get to as many British Superbike races as I can.”

Q: For Pirelli, what’s the difference between the WSB and BSB tyres?

“Britain has a mixture of different tracks and changeable weather so it was important for us to direct ourselves into the UK.

“We have two separate organisations for World Superbikes and British Superbikes.

“World Superbikes have some 40 different tyre specs and two or three of those tyres then become available to the market with the knowledge gained from the race track about compounds, contact patches and so on.

“There is less to choose from for British Superbikes but that should make it better because we can concentrate on making those tyres as best as we can, and the riders can spend more time on setup knowing how good the tyres are.

“And although there are fewer tyre choices in BSB, I think the British riders will do well in wildcard appearances because they are all good riders with very professional teams.”

Q: What was the big draw about Superbike racing to Pirelli?

“We desperately wanted to part of British Superbikes, as we did World Superbikes, because the machines they are racing are very close to what people can buy on Monday from a shop.

As the Managing Director of motorcycling for Pirelli I have to make sure everyone in BSB is satisfied with the tyre so we can then bring the technology into the market knowing that these racers have pushed the rubber to the limit.

It’s not like in car racing when the vehicles are nothing like what you can buy from a shop; these race bikes are very similar to what you can pay for. “

Q: The British weather has hindered testing here. How has that affected Pirelli?

“It would have been better to test more; it is always nicer to do more testing.

“The official tests in Spain went very well – better than we expected.

“But on our part it always helps when the riders are good because they can make the tyres good.

“Snetterton wasn’t a total disaster – it gave us time to discuss with the teams and they all seemed confident.”

Q: So what’s the benefit of having a single tyre rule in British Superbikes?

“Control tyres bring two big advantages to racing.

“Each team gets the same treatment in the interest of competition for the racers, and it also makes the racing a better show for the public because it makes the racing closer.

“There’s also a lot of control for the teams because they know how much they have to pay for the tyres.”

Q: What’s the link between British Superbikes and tyres we can buy?

“Being part of British Superbikes is more than image for us – we can communicate testing solutions very well and it allows us to test and develop the tyres so we can bring the results into the normal market.

“As with our development into World Superbikes, what we learn from the race track in British Superbikes will be available to buy in the market in 12 or 16 months.

“The race tyres are made on the same line in the Germany factory as the normal road tyres. I am the Senior Vice President of Pirelli Germany as well so I oversee everything that happens in the Frankfurt factory.”