Pirelli Tire North America captured its seventh absolute motorcycle track record of the 2022 racing season with Stefano Mesa during the Championship Cup Series at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. Mesa, who was riding a Pirelli DIABLO Superbike equipped Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R motorcycle, maintains his hold of the most track records set this season with four.
“It’s always special to achieve success here at Daytona,” said Mesa. “I’m stoked to add another track record to the list. I’ve been fortunate to have quite a few of them these past few years, and I owe a big thanks to Pirelli. Daytona is such a gnarly track to get things right, but they had me hooking up all weekend, and I had so much confidence in my setup that it allowed me to top my own record twice!”
Mesa set a new lap record of 1:45.879 on Saturday, Oct. 15, in the CCS Unlimited Supersport class and then topped it once again and without a draft on Sunday, Oct. 16 with a 1:45.538. He also held the previous lap record of 1:45.911 at the speedway. His ZX-10R relied on the performance of Pirelli’s DIABLO Superbike 125/70R17 SC2 front and 200/65R17 Daytona compound rear slicks.
In addition to his achievements aboard the ZX-10R, Mesa clocked the fastest laps of any 600cc rider all weekend aboard his Pirelli-equipped Ninja ZX-6R.
“The Pirelli momentum at Daytona keeps on rolling,” said Oscar Solis, senior racing manager, Pirelli. “The brand has had a lot of success at this speedway the last few years. It’s one of the most challenging circuits in the nation when it comes to nailing the setup, and it really shows the importance of both performance and durability. We would like to congratulate Stefano for pushing the limits and topping his own previous track record!”
Mesa has now set track records this season at Daytona, Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Roebling Road Raceway and Carolina Motorsports Park. JC Camacho sits behind Mesa with two track records earned. Pirelli remains the motorcycle tire of choice for North American riders looking to reach the top step of the podium and log fast laps at events and series that do not have a spec tire rule. Reward prizes are offered to riders who set a new motorcycle track record while using Pirelli race compound tires.
