Pirelli have confirmed that they will bring their new qualifying tyre to this weekend's MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship round at MotorLand Aragon. The Italian manufacturer has been planning to introduce a more durable tyre for use in Superpole 2 for some time, and following successful tests during the winter it will be debuted in Spain at the Pirelli Aragon Round.

The new tyre is a complete departure from Pirelli in their ethos behind the qualifying tyre, with riders expected to be able to complete a minimum of two laps - potentially more at certain venues.

Pirelli have explained the new, updated feature “the new tyre is a brand new supersoft compound qualifying tyre to be used only during Superpole 2. It was already tested by riders during winter testing in Jerez and Portimão and it should ensure a minimum of two laps at the maximum speed.”

The January tests on the Iberian Peninsula saw numerous riders try the new rubber including Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The Ducati rider has won five times at Aragon in the past and will start this weekend as one of the pre-race favourites.

He offered his thoughts on the new tyre following the Portimao test: “I used the new qualifying tyre and I managed to match my time to the regular Q-Tyre even though I did six laps on it. I think that it's not really a Q-Tyre because it doesn't have the out and out grip of a qualifier, but I quite like it because you get a minimum of three laps from it. You get only a little bit less grip than a normal qualifier, but you can keep pushing for longer. From a TV perspective it could be good because whereas in the past the rider needed to do his time on the first lap, now you have an extra few laps to set the time.”