Only 11 days remain before the full-time riders designated by MotoGP’s six manufacturers can finally test Pirelli’s new MotoGP tyres for the 2027 season.
For the moment, the number of full-time riders under contract for next year is tremendously limited, and is restricted to Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), Diogo Moreira (Honda), and Ducati riders Fermin Aldeguer and Marc Marquez.
Unless there are last-minute surprises, KTM will not have any contracted rider available and will have to continue running with its test riders, although some manufacturers do not rule out the possibility of some of their departing riders testing the 2027 bike with the new tyres.
Since it was announced in March 2025 that Pirelli would replace Michelin, the Italian manufacturer’s executives got down to work. In October 2025, they delivered a first batch of 70 tyres to each manufacturer, and at the end of last April, a new set with the same number of units.
“I cannot confirm the figures, but indeed, two batches of tyres have already been delivered,” confirmed Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli’s motorcycle racing director, in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.
A second batch that, compared with the first, introduced a first evolution. “That’s right. We are going to use the three tests available to us during this year (Brno, Spielberg and Valencia) to develop the tyres we supply. This is because, first, we want to understand which are the best structures (carcasses), the most suitable for these new bikes.
“Secondly, because we want to create a range for next year’s championship, so that we have solutions capable of covering different demands and needs.”
In addition to the official tests, which will be held behind closed doors as Michelin’s contract remains in force until the end of the year, manufacturers are taking advantage of their private tests with test riders to develop the new bikes and begin to understand the tyres, and there the riders’ comments are fundamental for Pirelli.
“I do not want to give you a rider’s comment conveyed by me. I will only tell you that we have already carried out many trials, several tests. In Mugello (31 May), they returned the tyres from the first batch already used, and they used them all (70),” he said, which confirms the amount of testing the manufacturers have done.
“The fact that they used them all means, because we followed all the tests, that they were able to work with this material in the development of their bike. There was not one solution or two solutions where they said: ‘No, look, it doesn’t work, it does two laps and I can’t do anything.’ They were able to work and make comparisons between the different parts they brought: aerodynamics, electronics, engine, chassis, using all the tyres we gave them. Therefore, it is a positive aspect,” assessed the Pirelli executive.
Although no detailed information has been provided, it is understood that within the tyre set delivered to the teams, there are various compounds or options.
“Let’s start from the basis that we began with what we know how to do and thought about using the most… I would not say competitive material, but the highest-performing, the softest. But undoubtedly, tyres with good grip, especially at the rear and front; tyres that give feeling, confidence to the rider so that he can work safely,” he explained, before adding that there are “different carcasses and compounds”, a complete range.
A complete tyre catalogue whose characteristics are: “We know Pirelli racing tyres well. We know that their strong points are grip, quick warm-up and the confidence they immediately transmit to the rider.”
Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“A lot of attention to the riders’ comments”
The problem is that, until now, no full-time rider has been able to test the Pirellis. “None, I would tell you that (the most ‘full-time’ rider), Augusto Fernandez, has tested them. The others have not.”
However, for Pirelli, it is key that the most competitive riders do so. “It is always extremely important. Because the difference in riding, lap time and the ability to take the bike and the tyre to the limit are fundamental,” he continued.
For that reason, the next test in Brno, in 11 days’ time, is key. However, only riders such as Marquez, Bezzecchi, Aldeguer, Razgatlioglu or Moreira will be able to be there on paper, and no one overlooks the fact that, because of his record, any comments Marquez may make will be listened to with enormous attention by Pirelli’s engineers. To the point that the 2027 tyres could become the ‘Marquez tyres’.
“No, Pirelli’s intention is not to make a ‘Marquez tyre’, it is not our way of working or acting, it is not our style. In 23 years in Superbike we have always maintained certain balances and that is our first intention; also Dorna’s. We do not want to do things differently,” Barbier cuts in.
“It is clear that the riders who are capable of giving us more information, more feedback, will receive a certain amount of attention. We will be very attentive to what they tell us, in order eventually to evolve the tyres. Therefore, the rider’s ability to understand and communicate information to us is important, whether it is Marquez or anyone else.
Recently, Maverick Vinales explained that it was essential for him to be able to test the Pirellis with KTM, that it would give him a great advantage over the rest of the brand’s riders next year, if he ultimately remains there.
Pirreli tyres
Photo by: Motorsport.com
“Indeed, because if I test the Pirelli earlier, I can influence the development of the bike, not the tyre. It is a great advantage. And that can go together,” he assessed.
“I made the same observation regarding Ducati, which carries out tests with Michele Pirro and then with Nicolo Bulega. If Bulega becomes a Ducati rider for MotoGP in 2027, it is clear that by doing all the testing work in 2026, he will arrive in 2027 with very strong preparation both on the bike and on the tyres. This can apply to any rider.”
In the case of Bulega, the Italian could benefit a lot from his experience on Pirelli if he ends up moving to MotoGP next year.
“In his conviction, a huge one. I think he will once again find that character, because Bulega too, when he tested the 850cc bike, said that he had found the character of the Pirellis. When last year he rode the MotoGP bike (he replaced Marquez for two GPs when he was injured), he struggled a little to adapt to the tyres. Now it is easier for him.”
However, the Pirelli boss has one concern: “The fact that there is now a crazy, unhinged market, in which many riders change teams and manufacturers, will create confusion.
“I would not like any rider to arrive at the Valencia test on December 1 without having tested the Pirellis. What is he going to test then?” he warns. And yet, that will happen.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
