One of the surprises we had a few months ago involved Michelin and also Pirelli. And it is that the first gave way to the second as a supplier of tires in MotoGP. In this way Pirelli was supplying the tires of the three main categories and MotoGP in 2027.
Now the opposite happens, and Michelin will be the one who replaces Pirelli as the single supplier of the Superbike World Cup. That is, he will be in charge of the Worldsbk, Worldspb, WorldSPB tires and the FIM female world championship.
An unexpected jump, but that ends one of the doubts that had to do with the possibility that Pirelli could or may not supply the two championships at the same time. Therefore, Michelin will be the one who has been in charge since 2027 of the serial motorcycle championship.
If the MotoGP Michelin march was an end to a long relationship between the manufacturer and the championship, the arrival of the French manufacturer to the Superbike World Cup will end the completion of a relationship that Pirelli and the WSBK have maintained since 2004. At that time the championship became the first world championship that happened to have a single tire supplier, a policy that MotoGP incorporated years later.
Michelin will return to the WSBK almost a quarter of a century later
Precisely that decision of the championship, then in the hand of Flammini Group, left Michelin out despite being one of the main animators of the championship, winning several championships and, then, being a defender of the battle on track between pneumatic manufacturers.
The agreement between Michelin and Dorna, who is the organizer and owner of the rights of both championships, will be extended at first until 2031. That is, with this agreement five seasons are confirmed at the beginning of the collaboration.
“We are very happy to be able to compromise so quickly with a first level motorcycling championship that will begin in 2027” Matthieu Bonardel, director of Michelin Motorsport. “The Worldsbk offers an ideal environment to bring our technologies even more closer to all the pilots, both on track and on the road. The public of this championship is mainly composed of fans who have super -sports motorcycles. For them, we will do everything possible to offer high quality entertainment, backed by pneumatic with exceptional performance.”
