PARIS (Oct. 7, 2008) — Bridgestone Corp. has bid to become the single tire supplier for the MotoGP World Championship starting next year after Michelin decided not to bid for the global motorcycle racing series.
Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme, the organizer of the motorcycle grand prix series, recently restricted the MotoGP series to a single tire supplier starting with the 2009 season.
The FIM's Grand Prix Commission cited safety and cost reasons for the change. It expects to announce its choice by Oct. 18 at the season-ending race in Sepang, Malaysia.
Bridgestone and Michelin were the only tire suppliers this year for MotoGP.
This is the third major international racing series from which Michelin has withdrawn after a proposal to focus on supplying the A1 Grand Prix series, which began its fourth year of competition recently.
It withdrew from Formula 1 in 2007 and two years ago ended its supply relationship with the World Rally Championship.