Bridgestone officially announced as MotoGP tire supplier

[El Toro]

It has been officially announced that Bridgestone, the sole proposer for the right, has been selected as the single tire supplier for the entire MotoGP grid for the next three years.

Bridgestone says they're committed to safety, and also to fairness. They say they will do their best to support all the teams.

I am a bit disappointed that MotoGP has gone to a single tire supplier. I would have preferred them to return to the old rules that allowed an unlimited number of tires for each team...but I can see how this affected fairness if more resources were being spent on potential winners and less on the likely bunch of also rans.

In any event, I hope that tire homologation isn't the first step toward taking the mechanical aspects out of MotoGP entirely. No one is talking about engine homologation, or similar ideas that have been adopted in F1, but the camel now has its nose officially in the tent.

 

[MotorToad]

Single tire rules suck for progress, but it's better than the ridiculous rules that were in effect. IMO the only tire rules should be that every competitor has access to every tire you bring to the track, or at least every team that's running your tires. It sucks for the competition when, for instance, Michelin made tires for Ducati in WSB (the last year before Pirelli got the single tire rule), or Bridgestone made a Ducati tire that Suzuki and Kawasaki couldn't use.

 

[El Toro]

During the race at Sepang this weekend the commentators said that the rules next year would allow 20 tires per rider, and that since there was a single supplier, there would be no qualifying tires. I'm not sure why this last item would be a good idea, but that's what they said. I guess we'll wait to see what unfolds.

 

[FZ/FJR Mike]

Yeah right, do their best for fairness. Rossi, Stoner & the midget are surely going to have better selections than West or Guintoli.

 

[MotorToad]

I don't there will be an issue with who gets a better tire, there's no reason they'll not all be the same. The question is who directs the development of the tire; Ducati, Yamaha, and the 110 lb. freakchild all have different needs for tire construction.

Ducati went with unknown Bridgestone over winning-everything Michelin because they knew Bridgestone would build the tire for them, where Michelin already had Rossi, HRC, and the other established entities to keep happy. It wouldn't have paid off, either, if it weren't for those meddling kids! Erm, I mean-- the ridiculous pick-your-tires-by-the-Thursday-moonlight-seance-method rule is the sole reason Bridgestone ever won more than a few races a year.