“Pirelli is different”: the MotoGP paddock has changed its mind

Since 2004 Pirelli has been the sole supplier for the World Superbike Championship; from next year it will take on the same role for the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 classes. Conversely, Michelin will take over production-based series and their respective support categories. A changing of the guard that could shuffle the deck in the World Championship, especially in 2027, when the switch to the new 850cc engines will happen at the same time.

For two decades Pirelli did not enjoy a good reputation in the MotoGP paddock. Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli’s Moto Racing Director, is aware of the rumors about his company and smiles: "It’s amusing to me as well," he said in an interview with Speedwek.com. "I didn’t expect we might end up as sole suppliers, but I’m pleased... When we started with Moto2 and Moto3, we told them we didn’t want to make prototypes but to follow the same path adopted in Superbike, that is, to race with tires that appear in our catalogs and are also available to enthusiasts. So in Moto2 we used the identical material we had tested for years in Superbike. For Moto3, we supply the standard slicks we’d had in our portfolio for a few years, but they didn’t sell much, because the championship belonged to our competitors and few wanted to use anything else."

After two years of experience Pirelli has made inroads, clearly raising the bar compared to the era of the single-brand Dunlop. Step by step, the Milan-based company managed to climb to the top and secure MotoGP. "When you change paddocks, it’s like coming into another world," Barbier added. "We saw this attitude with Dorna as well. But we proved in every class—MiniGP, Moto3, and Moto2—that we are capable of doing it. We also showed that we can have good and faster races with standard products."

Pirelli does not fear comparison with the current Michelin tires, confident it has reached a highly competitive level in every circumstance. When it debuted in Superbike in 2004, the balance was very different. "At the time, we were a huge step behind the tires of our competitors. The mindset of the riders, the manufacturers and the teams—everyone in the paddock—was completely opposed to innovation, so it was difficult to explain that Pirelli worked differently. Today, everyone knows that Pirelli is different."

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