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By Saajan Jogia
Sports Contributing Writer
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MotoGP and its official tire supplier Michelin have agreed to part ways following the 2027 season after 11 years of partnership. Michelin will be replaced by Pirelli, which has been supplying tires to the Moto2 and Moto3 junior categories since 2004.
The announcement of the unexpected split comes after Michelin had already begun work on the tires for the 2027 season, the year when MotoGP enters a new era of regulations with a move to 850cc engines. Pirelli will now take over the task of developing tires for not only MotoGP but also MotoE.
Michelin's two-wheel competition manager, Piero Taramasso, explained that the MotoGP owner Dorna Sports wanted one tire supplier for all categories, a requirement that Michelin could not promise to fulfill. He told Autosport:
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"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.
"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."
Taramasso pointed out why Michelin was keen on supplying tires exclusively to MotoGP and MotoE. He said:
"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.
"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."
By supplying tires to just two categories, Michelin aims to focus effectively on the quality of service and eliminate any form of concern that could potentially arise by catering to multiple sporting categories. He added:
"Taking the rest for us didn't make sense, and that's why we didn't want to continue.
"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."
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