Bridgestone tyre deal best for MotoGP

Booming costs would have made it impossible to ditch the single tyre rule in favour of a return to multi-brand competition in MotoGP.

Bridgestone signed a new three-year deal to be the sole tyre supplier in MotoGP until the end of 2014 last month, despite rumours that Michelin was pondering a comeback and Pirelli has been in discussions about a switch to the premier class.

The introduction of the single tyre rule back in 2009 caused huge controversy initially because it killed off competition. But it has been deemed a big success though with equal treatment throughout the field, though there were doubts over Bridgestone’s future involvement when it quit Formula One at the end of 2010.

Michelin had hinted at a return while Pirelli management attended the Estoril race in Portugal last October for discussions with Dorna.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal said a return to competition would have seen costs soar though and backed the move to keep the single tyre format.

The International Race Teams Association president said: “It is good to see some other brands having an interest in the championship and it was good to show that Michelin and Pirelli still have some interest to promote their brand. But it wasn’t really the right moment to allow competition again. If you bring competition back in the tyre department, you bring a lot more costs. At the moment with the state of the global economy, the biggest priority is to try to keep everybody alive and keep everybody competitive. It is good to have more bikes on the grid but we need to have people on the grid that are capable of delivering a good show.”