Why Michelin has given up on MotoGP

Michelin has explained it is set to leave the MotoGP championship because Dorna wanted to have the same supplier for all of its series, which the French marque disagreed with.

Pirelli was announced on Thursday as MotoGP’s next tyre manufacturer from 2027 to 2031. The Italian brand already provides tyres to Moto2 and Moto3, while it will also take over from Michelin in MotoE.

The Clermont-Ferrand-based company will therefore bow out of MotoGP when its current contract ends, despite having started work on new compounds for the new technical era from 2027 onwards, which will include an 850cc engine formula.

“We had been discussing the renewal with Dorna for several months, then they decided to have one supplier for all world championship categories – so MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, MotoE, but also the junior categories like the Rookies Cup and the Talent Cups,” Michelin’s two-wheel competition manager Piero Taramasso told Motorsport.com.

“For strategic reasons, they decided that having one supplier was better than two, and we were not interested in doing other categories outside of MotoGP and MotoE.”

Piero Taramasso, Michelin

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Taramasso explained that Michelin had been keen to extend its involvement in MotoGP because the company could not collect similar technological data via any other series.

“MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorbike racing, with the best riders in the world and bikes capable of surpassing 300km/h, which have enormous power,” the Italian added.

“This category allows you to gain experience and acquire a lot of data. It can be very useful to continue the development of commercial tyres as well. And what you do in MotoGP, you can't do in any other category.

“MotoE, on the other hand, was our platform to work on sustainable materials, and it made sense to do this with electric bikes.

“Since we entered MotoE, we have managed to integrate more than 50% sustainable materials into the tyres. For us, therefore, those two championships were perfectly in line with the Michelin group’s strategy.”

Taramasso also reckoned that supplying tyres to so many championships simultaneously would be detrimental to the quality of the rubber.

“Taking the rest for us didn't make sense, and that's why we didn't want to continue,” he added.

“Besides, concentrating on just two championships meant that we could offer a better service to the drivers and teams. If, instead, you scatter your resources, you risk reducing the quality of service and tyres. This is also a reason why we decided to leave.”

Pirelli currently has another deal to supply the World Superbike championship until the end of 2026, as well as its flagship partnership with Formula 1, which is set to last until 2027 at the earliest.