Why Pirelli tyre switch in MotoGP “will not be easy”

Ahead of this weekend’s Argentina Grand Prix, MotoGP announced that from 2027 it will be changing tyre manufacturer from Michelin to Pirelli.

Following months of negotiations between Michelin and Dorna Sports, the demands of the latter proved insurmountable for the French tyre manufacturer. Wanting to continue focusing fully on developing tyres for MotoGP and MotoE only, Michelin’s strategy was at odds with Dorna’s wants to having all classes running the same rubber.

Currently - and has been the case for years - two tyre manufacturers take up residence in the grand prix paddock. In 2025, they are Michelin and Pirelli.

Pirelli came in last year as the sole tyre supplier for the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, taking over from Dunlop. Michelin has been at the helm of MotoGP’s tyre supply since 2016, having replaced Bridgestone who served as sole supplier from 2009 but had been prominent during the tyre war era before that.

One of the key complaints young riders make when stepping up to the premier class is the adaptation to the tyres. Dorna’s (quite sensible) request to have one tyre supplier for all classes, as well as in pre-GP series like the Talent Cups and Rookies Cup, makes sense with that in mind.

But Pirelli will be stepping into the premier class at a time of great change, as 2027 marks the beginning of the 850cc era for MotoGP.

“I never experienced anything like that, but I’m sure Pirelli will do a great job to develop a tyre that will suit well to our bikes,” double MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia said. “Michelin did it in a fantastic way and the performance right now is incredible. So, let’s see, let’s wait. Will not be easy because we will have to develop bikes and tyres at the same moment. But we’re here to be competitive, we’re here to do it and it will be fun to have a difference.”

When Michelin returned to the grid in 2016 as sole supplier, it didn’t face quite the same task. Granted, those tyres were put onto bikes all using spec electronics for the first time. But the 1000cc era that began in 2012 was already well-established by this point.

“As a rider, I already experienced from Bridgestone to Michelin,” Marc Marquez, who won the title on Bridgestones and Michelins, said. “And I don’t like to change. Not from Michelin to Pirelli: I mean, for sure Pirelli will be good tyres. But always when you change it’s a kind of adaptation from the manufacturers to the tyres, the riding style to the tyres. And you remember when Michelin arrived here [as replacement for] Bridgestone, [there were] strange crashes, we didn’t understand why we crashed.

“And as a rider, personal opinion, I don’t like it. But it’s the decision of the championship. But we need to say thanks to Michelin because they developed the tyres in a very good way and they are performing in a very good way.”

MotoGP tyre change good and bad for riders, fans alike

Marquez’s reticence is valid.

In 2015, the final year of using Bridgestone tyres, there were four different winners spread across two manufacturers: Honda and Yamaha. When the Michelins came in for 2016, that number of winners shot up to nine across four manufacturers: Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki. There was also a stretch of eight different winners in succession.

In some ways, current MotoGP is moving in this direction. Last year, five different riders managed to win races but across only two manufacturers: Ducati and Aprilia. Ducati, of course, won 19 of 20 grands prix across an utterly dominant campaign and the possibility of it repeating that in 2025 is high.

So, a change of tyre manufacturer has - historically - opened the door for more riders and bikes to win grands prix. However, that competitiveness in terms of variety isn’t necessarily reflected in the overall competitiveness in races.

The average finishing margin across the 2015 season was 3.242s; in 2016 it was 4.009s. This data sample isn’t 100% accurate because it doesn’t take into account things like wet races and races that may have featured a close battle for victory prior to the chequered flag. But, it's also true that at no point in 2015 was a race in any condition won by nine seconds or more. In 2016, Jorge Lorenzo - in a dry race - won the French GP by 10.654s.

Given Pirelli will join the grid at the dawn of the 850cc era, the impact new tyres has on the grid will be somewhat tempered by the completely new bikes. So a repeat of 2015 to 2016 is not necessarily on the cards, at least from a tyre perspective.

But a new tyre supplier does also bring with it other issues that could have severe impacts. In pre-season testing in 2016, Loris Baz suffered a terrifying rear tyre failure on the main straight of the Sepang circuit. Scott Redding was hit by something similar during practice for the Argentina GP. Michelin said at the time both weren’t connected.

But after Redding’s issue, stiffer rear tyres were brought in. This is thought to have been something that greatly affected Dani Pedrosa. The drive grip of the new Michelins at the time was set to help the diminutive Spaniard, as his strength in riding came on the exit of corners. The stiffer rear tyres somewhat worked against this riding style.

That, of course, was a unique situation and Michelin’s development of its tyres since 2016 has been incredible given all of the track lap records it now holds in MotoGP. Pirelli has also done a commendable job in Moto2 and Moto3 already, leaving MotoGP in good hands for its step in 2027.

But that still won’t save the riders from experiencing some headaches when they switch rubber in just under two years’ time.