Official: Michelin won’t introduce new MotoGP front tyre
Michelin confirms it will not introduce its new front tyre for the 2026 MotoGP season.
Michelin has officially confirmed it will not introduce its long-planned new front tyre for the 2026 MotoGP season.
“After the last test in Aragon, we had time to analyse all the results and everything,” Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager Piero Taramasso said at Assen.
“Also taking into account what will happen in the future and considering that we will leave the MotoGP championship at the end of 2026, we decided not to introduce the new front. So this is the decision.
“We spoke with the riders, with the teams, also Dorna and I think this is the best solution. We took the decision basically all together. For one season, we think it was not a good idea.
“On one hand it’s a pity because several riders liked it, others less, but everybody felt a good potential on this tyre.
“But anyway, at the end of next season, we will move to other championships and for sure, we will use this technology. We will inspire our future tyres from this concept.
“But the best for us, for the championship, for everybody, is just to finish with the current model of front tyre.”
The next-generation front slick was designed to counter the extra loads imposed by aero and ride-height devices and be less sensitive to heat behind other bikes.
Despite being larger, the tyre was also engineered to be lighter than the current specification.
Originally scheduled for introduction this season, the new front was postponed due to limited testing opportunities.
Michelin instead targeted 2026, but the subsequent confirmation that Pirelli will take over as MotoGP’s sole tyre supplier from 2027 cast further doubt over its future.
The Aragon test was the final deadline for a yes or no decision.
“We will analyse everything and after that we will decide whether to use it or not,” Taramasso had told Crash.net ahead of the test.
“I would say 60% [of riders] are in favour at the moment… But we need to make sure that it works for almost all the riders, and all the brands.
“We don't want to give an advantage to one rider or brand.”
The decision to cancel means the current front - which has increasingly been pushed to its limits by the demands of modern MotoGP bikes - will remain in use until the end of Michelin’s tenure.
Michelin will then swap with Pirelli and become tyre supplier for the World Superbike championship from 2027.
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