MotoGP Tyres: How much do they cost and who pays?

In the MotoGP paddock, unlike the world of football, there is maximum secrecy around costs and riders’ salaries, as well as the money distributed by the organizers to the teams.

Another line item in the budget concerns tires, which significantly drives up operating costs. Since the 2009 season there has been a single supplier, helping to keep expenses in check. But it still weighs heavily on the financial outlays faced by manufacturers.

Bridgestone was the first sole supplier in MotoGP, from 2009 to 2015. Since 2016 we have seen the entry of the French company Michelin, which this year is contesting its eleventh season. Starting next year it will be Pirelli fitting the premier-class prototypes with the new 850cc engines. It will also be the exclusive supplier in Moto2 and Moto3, thus covering the entire World Championship program. But who pays for the tires? And how much does a MotoGP tire cost?

Giorgio Barbier, Motorcycle Racing Director at Pirelli, gave a partial answer to this question in an interview with Motorsport.com. "In any motorcycle competition or in Formula 1, the organizer pays the tire supplier. I understand that the manufacturer says: I am the exclusive supplier to MotoGP and I pay a fee. Six million, for example. But then I add: all the tires cost me 36 million. And you pay those 36 million."

The situation is actually more complex. "There are negotiations," Barbier continued. "They are part of the agreements with the promoter. Because one thing is the cost of the tires, but there is also the service, the staff, the entire organization. These are significant costs. The fee is one thing. Then there are all the ancillary costs, which are also significant. How you have to organize yourself in the factory, the processes, and so on. So you can say to the promoter: ‘Would you help me cover part of these costs?’ Or: ‘This is the amount of the costs and this is the fee.’ There are negotiations."

So will MotoGP teams have to pay a fee to the supplier? The answer seems to be no. "In the Superbike championship, yes. In MotoGP, at the moment, it is not foreseen. It happens in Moto3 and Moto2, but in MotoGP it is not foreseen." It should be remembered, however, that premier-class tires are not commercially available and teams cannot purchase them independently for private testing. Therefore, strict control is enforced and each manufacturer is supplied a limited number of units over the course of a year.

Control in this sense is strict, which is why manufacturers are assigned a limited number of units to test during the year, ranging from 170 to 260, depending on their position in the concessions ranking. Finally, the fateful question: how much does a MotoGP tire cost? "Obviously I can’t tell you the exact price, but I can give you a hint: how much does the tire for your motorcycle cost?" Barbier asked. A rear tire for a Diablo Superbike costs about 300 euros. "We make MotoGP prototypes with the same machinery and in the same factory where we produce hypersport street motorcycle tires. We only change the materials, and we might change something in the process. But the cost will never be very different."

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