PIRELLI TIRE NORTH AMERICA LOOKING FORWARD TO EXCITING WEEKEND OF WORLD SUPERBIKE RACING IN UTAH

Rome, Georgia, May 25, 2012 – Pirelli Moto celebrates the return of World Superbike to the United States during Memorial Day weekend, which honors the nation’s past and present military personnel. Following excitement delivered by bothBMW’s first win in WSBK and the last corner melee at Donington Park Circuit in England, the series joins hands with AMA Superbike for a weekend of racing in the old west.

Round six of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship will be held at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah, where, contrary to standard scheduling, riders will not take the track until Saturday, with Superpole qualification Sunday and race day falling on Monday’s Memorial Day.

The "Quest for 200" will be underway as all riders compete for the chance to be the first to hit 200mph at World Superbike 2012. Fans have the opportunity to predict which rider and the exact speed to the one hundredth decimal will be the first to cross the ever-elusive threshold, with the chance to win prizes courtesy of Pirelli and Tissot. Visit "The Quest for 200" for all rules and to enter.

Pirelli is also offering exclusive discounts on VIP packages for the weekend – click here for full details.

MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK FROM PIRELLI’S POINT OF VIEW:

For the overseas round of the World Superbike Championship, Pirelli will provide riders with two solutions for the front and three for the rear in addition to the intermediate rain tires. On the front they will be able to choose from an SC1 and SC2 compound, while for the rear there will be two SC1 compounds and one SC2. One of the two SC1 compounds is the R302 which had very good results in Donington and was very popular with almost all the riders. For this reason, at the request of the teams, Pirelli decided to bring it to Miller as well to see how it performs on this track where, besides the extremely long straight stretch, the variable weather conditions come into play. Yet another unknown factor is the salt and sand deposits on the asphalt caused by the nearby salt lake and the fact that the track is not used very often.

BACKGROUND:

Set amongst the incredible backdrop of The Rockies, Miller Motorsports Park is located just 30 minuteswest of Salt Lake City. Opened in 2006, it’s one of the newest and most modern racing facilities in North America. In addition to the 3.067-mile racetrack, which can be used in several variants, the site also includes the Larry H. Miller Museum with a collection of spectacular racing cars, karting center,racing driver school, and performance training center, which offers drivingcourses. The Superbike World Championship has been visiting Salt Lake City since 2008.

The circuit features over 20 turns and has a very technically demanding layout. The many changes in direction play a major role when setting the bike up and perfect handling is crucial in the corners. The teams also need to find a set-up that generates as much mechanical grip as possible, as the track surface itself offers very little grip. Tire wear and the weather are always critical issues in determining proper bike set-up – temperatures tend to fluctuate between extreme heat or snow in the mountains around the circuit. Finally, at roughly 1,350 meters above sea level, the high altitude and thin air also impact the superbike engines.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

Circuit/Date                                       Miller Motorsports Park / 28th May 2012

Start time Race 1 (local/CET)        12:00 PM (Mountain Time)

Start time Race 2 (local/CET)        3:30 PM (Mountain Time)

Lap/Race distance                           3.067 mi / 63.992 mi (21 laps)

Corners                                              13 left-hand and 10 right-hand corners

WINNERS 2011:

Race 1:          Carlos Checa, Althea Racing, 38’46.915 min

Race 2:          Carlos Checa, Althea Racing, 38’22.082 min

Fastest Lap   Carlos Checa, Althea Racing, 1’48.827 min

DATA 2011:

Top speed:                                        194.92 mph (Max Biaggi, race 2)

Longest section at full throttle:      12.75 sec / 2756 ft

Fastest corner:                                  Turn 4 “Scream”, 3rd gear, 117 mph

Maximum deceleration:                     190 mph – 66 mph

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli's Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. "Like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.