BSB: Pirelli promise 'in-depth investigation' into Silverstone tyre issues

Pirelli have promised they will be carrying out ‘appropriate, in-depth investigations’ into the extreme tyre issues seen at Silverstone this weekend.

Numerous riders in the Supersport and Superstock 1000 classes suffered severe tyre degradation during the weekend’s races, including a number who were forced to retire as their rear tyres wore away to the point of deflation.

While the issues weren’t as prevalent in the superbike class, some riders reported chunking in their tyres. It is not known if Jason O’Halloran’s race two puncture was caused by tyre wear – MCN understands Honda kept hold of the tyre and did not submit to Pirelli for analysis.

The spec-tyre supplier has said they will send all the affected rubber for detailed analysis in their laboratories before supplying a ‘structured and complete’ explanation.
“Just a few hours after the race, the elements we have available are obviously not enough to allow us to provide a structured and complete explanation of what happened to some tyres during the BSB weekend at Silverstone,” a Pirelli statement read.

“It is obviously of primary interest to us to understand what caused this damage to the tyres, so over the coming hours and days we will be conducting the appropriate in-depth investigations in our laboratories.”