- Pirellireturns to racing in Qatar, at the Lusail International Circuit which, just over a year ago, hosted their debut Grand Prix in Moto2™ and Moto3™ for the Italian tyre company. For this event, Pirelli confirms the allocation chosen for last year, consisting of standard compounds with the only exception being the C1096 hard rear development tyre for the Moto3™ class. Given that in Moto3™ the riders will have three rear solutions, the maximum number of rear tyres that, by regulation, they can use over the weekend also increases by one, going from 9 to 10 units while the number of front tyres remains unchanged with 8 units.
· In the races held on this track in 2024, most of the riders used the medium compounds for both axles: in Moto2™ the SC1 was the most chosen but all the riders on the podium opted for the rear SC0 while in Moto3™ the reference compound was the SC2. Lusail, in fact, is a circuit that is on average severe for the tyres, especially from the point of view of wear rates, which is higher than other circuits.
· The Lusail circuit offers a good track evolution. In the first sessions on Friday, there is usually a lot of sand on the surface carried by the wind, which accentuates tyre wear. Then, as the track becomes ‘rubberised’, the situation improves, and the grip increases. Temperatures are also another important aspect to take into account since, due to the temperature variation, they can fluctuate by many degrees between the first sessions and those at the end of the day.
We return to Lusail, the circuit of our debut in Moto2™ and Moto3™
“Last year Qatar was our debut Grand Prix in Moto2™ and Moto3™ because it was the first round on the calendar. Being the first GP with Pirelli, riders and teams had to face it without precise reference points and with machines designed to give their best with the tyres of the previous supplier. This year, however, we arrive in Lusail with three GPs already held and, above all, with a whole season of experience, both ours and from the teams and riders who now know our tyres much better. Not only that, we now also have frames and bikes that, compared to 2024, are optimised to work better with our tyres. We believe that the allocation chosen for last season was correct and for this reason we have decided to confirm it for this year as well; therefore, the tyres available to riders in both classes will be identical to 2024 with the only difference being the transition from the 3.75″ channel front rim to the 3.5-inch rim in Moto2™. Keeping the allocation unchanged, we will be able to appreciate more easily the improvements we expect to achieve compared to last season so as to demonstrate the real potential of our tyres also on this track which, it should be remembered, is still quite a demanding circuit for the tyres, especially in terms of wear; so a good bike setup could make the difference and allow you to make good use of even the softer compounds.”
