MotoGP
Last weekend’s MotoGP of Valencia not only concluded the 2023 season – it also marked the end of the Dunlop era in this motorsport event. The tyre brand, which locally is part of Goodyear, has been represented in Grand Prix racing since 1949. Despite its departure, Dunlop has reaffirmed its “commitment to top-level and world championship motorcycle motorsport,” which remains a “key component of the brand’s DNA.”
Michelin says it will introduce a full new range of motorcycle tyres in 2024, available for riders from January. The first three new products will be unveiled at the EICMA trade show, Milan, Italy from 7 to 12 November. Over the past years, the Michelin Power and Michelin Anakee ranges have been homologated by premium manufacturers such as BMW Motorrad, Triumph, KTM and Honda along with many others.
Pirelli has signed up to supply tyres exclusively to the Moto2 and Moto3 classes in 2024-26, replacing long-term supplier Dunlop. Pirelli calls the series “the strongest feeder classes in global motorsport.” The new three-year agreement is being finalised, with Pirelli set to become an integral part of the lightweight and intermediate classes of Grand Prix racing, adding to its portfolio of apex motorsport series supply deals. It will also supply various feeder series, known collectively as The Road to MotoGP. In global two-wheel racing, Pirelli is long-term exclusive tyre supplier to all classes of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. Pirelli will supply its Diablo Superbike slick tyres to both classes, following its strategy of closely aligning its racing and consumer products.
Michelin and Dorna Sports have confirmed a new three-year contract extension with Michelin. The extended tyre supply deal will see the French firm continue as the sole official tyre supplier to MotoGP until at least 2026 and therefore means the partners will reach the milestone of a decade racing together.
Liqui Moly has been represented in the MotoGP Motorcycle World Championship for eight years. It is now further expanding its commitment. The oil manufacturer will be title sponsor of the race in its home country, which is to be called the Liqui Moly Motorcycle Grand Prix of Germany. “This increases our brand visibility all over the world,” says Ernst Prost, managing director of Liqui Moly.
The German motor oil and additive producer Liqui Moly will remain the exclusive lubricant supplier for the Moto2 and Moto3 motorcycle racing series until 2023. What is more, the company also secured the naming rights for the Aragon Grand Prix at short notice. It will be held from 23 to 25 October under the name Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel.
Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has confirmed the compound choices for the first eight 2020 grands prix. Pirelli has made two interesting decisions in this list. First, the softest C5 compound will not feature, a fact most probably informed by the lack of a street circuit in the current calendar. Secondly, the Silverstone double-header on 2 and 9 August will get two different sets of compounds, with C1-3 at the first grand prix, and C2-4 at the second. This will provide an interesting comparison for fans, and gives the tyre manufacturer another chance to discuss the effects different tyre compounds can have on F1 racing.
Following months of testing, Michelin has introduced a new construction rear tyre for the upcoming MotoGP season. This latest evolution of the Michelin Power Slick rear tyre features a construction aimed at improving lap times through an increase in performance and stability. Following in-house testing, MotoGP riders were given their first taste of the tyre at the Catalunya test at Barcelona in June.
Sales of Michelin motorcycle tyres have doubled within the past five years. The tyre maker also aims to double sales again in the coming five, and will be aided here by a comprehensive renewal within its two-wheeler tyre portfolio in 2020. No less than nine new products will be introduced next year, a line-up expected to represent a quarter of Michelin’s sales within this segment. The new additions are currently on display at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy
Piaggio Group’s technical flagship, Aprilia Racing, has joined forces with global lubricant brand Gulf in a multi-year partnership deal for the world’s top motorbike racing championship. After two years working together in global motorcycle racing’s upper echelons – in the World Superbike Championship – Gulf and Aprilia Racing are making the step up into the pinnacle of motorbike racing, MotoGP, thanks to a new multi-year partnership. Gulf offers both fuel retail and in lubricants, boasting a wide product portfolio in all sectors from automotive to industrial.
Liqui Moly has added Superbike World Championship (World SBK) support for the Italian GRT Yamaha team to its MotoGP involvement. The team sponsorship will mean the company’s logo will be displayed on the motorcycles, racing overalls, team truck, and at the official Yamaha hospitality, while the team will have access to Liqui Moly motorcycle products, including more than its core oil and additive products.
Michelin has produced a second video covering its engagement as MotoGP tyre supplier. The English-subtitled video follows on from the short film released at the end of the 2016 season, Michelin’s first as exclusive supplier following an eight-year hiatus, and takes a behind-the-scenes look at the French tyre firm’s latest achievements in the sport.
Exide Technologies has announced a sponsorship deal with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS in this season’s MotoGP championship. The company says it views this new arrangement, which will expose Exide to a potential audience of millions around the world, as an “attractive marketing proposition.” As part of the sponsorship deal, the Exide logo will appear on Franco Morbidelli’s bike, team livery and in team promotional material.
Dunlop will supply tyres to the 2018 ADAC Northern Europe Cup, one of Europe’s premium lightweight motorcycle racing championships. For its third season the series will comprise seven races, with all competitors running on the brand’s rubber. This brings its tyre supply into line with the Dorna Sports SL European Talent Cup, launched in 2017, in which the two world championship classes, Moto3 and Moto2, race exclusively on tyres from Dunlop.
Having drawn upon experience in World Endurance and national championships when developing tyres for its return to MotoGP after an absence of seven years, in 2016 Michelin experienced an inaugural season in which it claimed to have engineered more developments than during its seven years working in other motorcycle racing disciplines. When the fun began again in Qatar in March, Michelin already had a season as tyre supplier under its belt, and accordingly the focus had shifted to building upon this flurry of engineering work.
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