Developed in collaboration with the mighty Fabian Barel, Pirelli's new Scorpion Race tyre features four brand-new tread patterns, two casings and a fresh rubber compound. Here are all of the details.

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SmartEVO DH is the new rubber compound included with these tyres. It's designed for the best performance in competition conditions, claiming to offer full bike control even in the nastiest of surfaces. It's been formulated to provide high chemical grip as well as good mechanical support when the speeds ramp up. 

Pirelli says that the static and dynamic parameters of the new compound have been tweaked to boost control when braking and cornering while enhancing control when drifting.

Smart EVO DH is made up of a single soft, 42 Shore A*, rubber for the whole of the outer tread, which is what provides the chemical grip. There's then a firmer support compound that offers mechanical support to the blocks while absorbing more significant trail shocks.

2022 pirelli scorpion race M DH.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Onto the new treads available and, as touched on before, there are four ripe for the picking with each designed to excel in certain conditions. First off, the M is the all-round race tread, promising to be the most versatile model in the range. The centre tread has been designed for predictable grip when braking and accelerating while the shoulder knobs are built for support while cornering and clearer communication when reaching the tyre's limit.

2022 pirelli scorpion race T EN.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The Scorpion Race T is aimed to provide maximum traction (has hinted by the T in the name). That's both when under braking or while cornering, too. The brand says that the centre tread features knobs that increase traction in every phase of the tyre's rotation and it's pre-shaped for better mud shedding when required, making for a solid front tyre choice.

2022 pirelli scorpion Race S Enduro tread.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Next, the Scorpion Race S is for when things get a little softer, or wetter. It gets tall knobs to increase mechanical grip, ideal for anything from mixed conditions to wet loose surfaces, says Pirelli. Thanks to the new SmartEVO DH rubber compound, it's said that the large knobs offer good grip on slippery trails without compromising the overall stability of the tyres, where the firmer base compound supports those knobs.

2022 pirelli scorpion race Mud DH.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Then the Scorpion Race Mud is designed for extreme slop. It's a narrower tyre with a very tall and widely spaced tread pattern with the aim of offering the most mechanical grip and the best mud-shedding ability. The knobs on this tyre are pre-shaped to be cut down if the rider is after better performance over harder sections of the track.

2022 pirelli scorpion race DH casing.jpg, by Liam Mercer

As well as the tread patterns and new rubber compound, Pirelli has developed two new casings, the Race DH and Race Enduro. The former uses a full two-ply 60tpi TLR casing with a rubber anti pinch-flat insert with an additional textile sidewall reinforcement. This casing is built to be predictable, supportive and reliable.

2022 pirelli scorpion race EN casing.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Then the latter, the Race Enduro casing is designed more be more supple and lighter thanks to a 120tpi, foldable casing that also comes with rubber anti pinch-flat protection.

Each of the tyres come in 2.5in widths, apart from the Mud model which is narrower at 2.4in. All tyres are then available in 29-inch or 650b wheelsizes. As for prices, the new tyres are set to cost £77 a piece.

• www.pirelli.com

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