MADRID—Organizers of the MotoGP World Championship for motorcycles has named Michelin as the series' sole tire supplier starting in 2016, when the series will switch to a 17-inch wheel spec.
Michelin will succeed Bridgestone Corp. as the series' spec tire supplier. Bridgestone disclosed recently it was bowing out of the competition after the 2015 season, ending a 13-year run of being active in motorcycling top racing series.
Madrid-based Dorna Sports S.L., promoter and organizer of the MotoGP World Championship, which is sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, did not disclose the length of its contract with Michelin nor financial terms.
Pascal Couasnon, director of Michelin Motorsport, said Michelin's interest in bidding for this contract reflects its policy of carrying over the firm's technologies the track to the road.
“This fits perfectly with the new technical regulations which are due to be introduced in 2016 and which will dictate the use of 17-inch wheels,” he said.
The MotoGP World Championship features the discipline's most technologically sophisticated bikes, the power output of which exceeds 250hp, Couasnon said.