The news that Pirelli is to take over as official tire supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 from 2024 came as something as a something of a surprise. Dunlop has been the sole supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 since the start of those classes, and were the de facto sole supplier in the 125 and 250 classes pretty much from the turn of the century.
It is an expansion of Pirelli's racing activities. The Italian tire maker has been the official tire supplier to the World Superbike championship since 2004, and is also the official tire for the F1 car racing series. Pirelli has no plans to leave the World Superbike championship, but is keen to expand into the grand prix paddock.
So Pirelli's move into Moto2 and Moto3 a lot of questions as to how they will be approaching it. For the Paddock Pass Podcast, Steve English spoke to Pirelli Racing Manager Giorgio to get more insight into the hows and whys of their decision to enter the grand prix paddock.
Broadening their reach
Barbier pointed out that this is not so much a new venture, as an expansion on their project with Ohvale and Dorna to supply the MiniGP series, which was itself the first step on the path to much more. "We're actually following the path that we started two years ago with MiniGP. For our intention is to follow Dorna into the project of Road to MotoGP, giving young riders all over the world the opportunity to start their career riding bikes with Pirelli tires," Pirelli's Racing Manager said.
Recent comments