Pirelli has always been acknowledged for its range of sports tyres: in the Seventies there was talk of Mandrake, Gordon, Phantom, names that have made history, but the turning point came in 2002 with the launch of the DIABLO range, a completely novel project that has become a genuine brand. The tyres in the DIABLO range have evolved year after year thanks to the experience acquired by Pirelli in the World Superbike Championship, of which it has been the sole supplier since 2004, making products for use in sports and professional road racing, with an important transfer of technology from the tracks all over the World Championship to the road.
DIABLO for both track and road
That's why DIABLO tyres immediately proved popular among sports motorcyclists, who have chosen them to be fitted on their legendary 600 road supersports and maxi sports bikes, superbikes, which are also for road use and truly extraordinary, very similar to those used in the world championship for motorbikes derived from standard production models. For riders who are generous with the accelerator the first reference road product was the Diablo Corsa, the “bad” version designed to use the bike on the road and also on the track.
As regards the track alone, however, as early as 2005, Pirelli offered the public the DIABLO Superbike, slick tyres for use solely on the track designed to offer maximum performance. These were followed, in 2007, by the DIABLO Supercorsa SC, grooved tyres but equally racing in nature, in other words, intended for sole use in circuits. The performance is top-level, so much so that over the years the DIABLO Supercorsa SC, in the various compound versions, has become the absolute benchmark of the Supersport and Superstock classes, not only in the world but also for many national championships, and it's still the standard for those championships that continue to use grooved tyres.
From the racetrack to the road
But the DIABLO Supercorsa has not only marked a cornerstone for professional riders: in 2008 the twin version of the SC was born, initialled SP, which constituted a genuine revolution in the world of road tyres for sports bikes, so much so that it inaugurated a new segment, the hypersport tyres closely related to racing tyres, suitable for equipping the most technological and powerful sports bikes in the world.
The DIABLO Supecorsa today
Today these bikes have reached extreme levels of performance, the maxi versions; this translates to power ratings exceeding 200 HP and they are equipped with sophisticated electronic control systems, otherwise it would be very difficult to ride them. They therefore need to be equipped with suitable tyres, such as the DIABLO Supercorsa SP, designed in every detail to offer maximum support for both performance and electronic functions. By this we mean: the carcass structure has to be designed to withstand stress, soft compounds are required to ensure the highest level of grip on the road but also a reasonable mileage, again because they are used on plated motorcycles.
How they have evolved over time
An interesting aspect of the DIABLO Supercorsa is that under the exterior, which has been retained so as not to lose the family feeling, lies a very important evolution. It's interesting to know that bikes and tyres follow a parallel path: motorcycle engineers design new models considering the tyres that will be developed; tyre engineers develop new versions considering the specifications of future bikes. In most cases, a close technical relationship is established between the two design teams, which is why the result is always excellent.
Today we have reached the fourth generation of the DIABLO Supercorsa V4 (where V4 stands for the fourth generation), and it is completely different from the début generation of 2007. It has been renovated in every aspect: the structure of the carcass, the profiles, the size and arrangement of the grooves and the formulation of the compounds. This applies both to the SC racing version, available in various compounds, developed to suit different road and temperature conditions and intended for professional, semi-professional or amateur riders, as well as the SP version for road use.
The difference between the track version and the road version is minimal and today the DIABLO Supercorsa SP represent the clearest example of technological transfer from the track to the road among Pirelli tires, since they share the structure, the profiles, the materials and technologies with the racing versions. A major difference is due to the SP's bi-compound solution, racing on the shoulder and road in the central band, chosen to ensure adequate mileage.
That's why the DIABLO Supercorsa slogan which is so dear to Pirelli was born: “We sell what we race, we race what we sell”, meaning that today all motorcyclists can fit the same tyres used by professional riders on their road bikes.
