WorldSBK: 3 more years for Pirelli

Pirelli will continue as sole official tyre supplier for all classes of the FIM Superbike World Championship for a further three years, up to and including the 2026 season. With the current agreement expiring at the end of this year, Dorna WorldSBK Organization, in agreement with motorcycling federation the FIM, proposed to Pirelli a new three-year agreement for the period 2024-2026.

Announcing this extension to its WorldSBK tyre supply arrangement, Pirelli notes that it has now served as exclusive tyre supplier for 20 years and refers to this two-decade engagement as “a unique collaboration in terms of longevity within the international motorsport panorama.” Furthermore, Pirelli considers this a demonstration of the “solid relationship” that it has established with Dorna, the FIM, teams and riders.

Since 2004, Pirelli has applied a “production-derived philosophy” in WorldSBK, meaning that it supplies riders with normal production tyres rather than prototype solutions. It abandoned 16.5-inch tyres in 2013 in favour of the 17-inch size more commonly used by motorcyclists on the road.

Looking towards the future

“Pirelli has proved time and again to be a perfect match for WorldSBK as our sole Official Tyre Supplier,” says Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK executive director for DWO. “Not only does our partnership ensure a great level of quality and performance to our teams and riders throughout the season on a wide variety of venues, but they also completely embraced the values and philosophy of the championship by bringing to the race track the products they offer to motorcyclists. WorldSBK has evolved through numerous eras and phases since we started to work with Pirelli and the fact that we’ve been building on this mutually beneficial collaboration over the past 20 years is unprecedented. So, it’s with great enthusiasm, that we’re looking towards the future of WorldSBK and Pirelli together as the Championship evolves and new challenges arise.”

“This year we are celebrating an important milestone: in fact, it has been 20 years that we have been alongside the FIM Superbike World Championship as Sole Supplier for all classes,” comments Aldo Nicotera, senior vice-president and head of Moto and Cycling Pirelli. “A road, begun in 2004, which represented the first example of a single-tyre formula in the history of top motorsport competitions and which, years later, has proven to be a winning choice, later followed by other championships. Motorsport has historically been an integral part of Pirelli’s DNA and this renewal is in line with our corporate strategy which sees World Superbike as a key platform for the development of our motorcycle tyres, starting with racing and super sports tyres. We are happy to continue this adventure alongside Dorna, the teams and riders until 2026 whilst continuing to offer motorcyclists from all over the world tyres that contain the best of Superbike-derived technology.”