Pirelli has become the sole tyre supplier for the Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships thanks to a 2024-2026 three-year agreement, thus consolidating the close link between the competitions and the road product, a philosophy which is perfectly conveyed by the now famous motto “We sell what we race, we race what we sell”. And that's not just an expression.
It is true that competitions are the subject of great attention for all companies because they honour the brand and constitute the ultimate workshop for technology development to be poured into series products at a subsequent date, but Pirelli has in this regard gone one step further.
Since 2004, the brand has been the single tyre supplier for the championship for bikes derived from series production, the World Superbike Championship, and has tackled this challenge with a unique feature: riders have exactly the same tyres at their disposal as the range offered to the public, the DIABLO in the Superbike, Wet and Rain versions. Which means, therefore, that customers can buy the same tyres as the championship riders, which is a great opportunity because it allows them to set up their bike for both racing and fun with racing technology products.
The Pirelli single tyre supplier formula for the FIM Superbike World Championship is the first example in the history of top-level motor racing, and twenty years later has proven to be a winning choice in the development of racing tyres (this example was in fact followed by other bike and car championships). This is because race products, for both speed and off-road, are designed and tested with the collaboration of the great champions and motorcycle manufacturers involved in the various championships.
Over the years, the development has been constant, certified by the performance levels achieved, even establishing new canons for racing tyres, used all over the world, including: the change from the 16.5” to the 17” wheel rim in 2013, the oversized measures were introduced in 2018; in 2019, new compounds were formulated, the slick SCX and other compounds for wet; then in 2022 came the SCQ compound dedicated to the new SBK format with the Superpole and the Superpole Race.
The new acquisition of the two World Championship categories, Moto2 and Moto3, plus the project involving the link with the products in the range, i.e. with huge production volumes, involves a considerable technical and industrial commitment, but the experience accumulated in track competitions has already confirmed the quality of the DIABLO series: both in a private test performed in September 2023 at the Barcelona circuit, and in the first official tests in 2024, held in November at the Valencia circuit, riders in these categories using the DIABLO™ Superbike tyres for the first time immediately set record lap times.
The evolution has certainly not been lacking, and for this reason WorldSBK will remain the benchmark for Pirelli for the development of the racing range, which will subsequently be made available to all championships.
Pirelli's current sporting activity is remarkable: in 2024 the brand is involved in more than 150 motorcycle competitions (both on road and off-road). From this year, again with the racing products from the DIABLO family, Pirelli is the sole supplier of the Road to MotoGP project dedicated to the discovery of young talents. It will supply all classes of Finetwork FIM JuniorGP World Championship, Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup, Northern Talent Cup and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, as well as strengthening its commitment to the FIM MiniGP World Series. Alongside the WorldSBK Championship – where Pirelli is already present in all categories, including entry levels such as the WorldSSP300 and the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup – the DIABLO™ Superbike tyres will be used in the six rounds of the new FIM Women's Motorcycling World Championship, starring the Yamaha YZF-R7 (set to kick off on 14th June 2024 in Misano).
Pirelli is always present in the major competitions dedicated to tomorrow's riders and stands by women in motorsports, a commitment which started in 2018 with Ana Carrasco, the first woman in history to win a mixed motorcycle championship by winning the Supersport 300 World Championship.
There are also some of the most prestigious national championships, such as the British Superbike (of which Pirelli has been the sole supplier since 2008), the German IDM Championship and the France Superbike Championship, to name but a few.
The brand's commitment to off-road competitions, a speciality in which Pirelli boasts a record of no less than 81 world titles, remains confirmed. In the FIM Motocross World Championship, organised by Infront, the brand is set to be the official tyre supplier until the end of 2025 with the SCORPION MX range.
Let's look at the products in detail. Riders will be able to enjoy the proven performance of the DIABLO™ Superbike slicks and the DIABLO™ Rain rain version,which have both been used successfully for years in all classes of the FIM Superbike World Championship and in a number of national championships too.
The website presents all versions and sizes; let's look in particular at the models in the two new categories. Moto2 uses slicks, size 125/70 R17 at the front (compounds SC1 and SC2) and 200/65 R17 at the rear (compounds SC0 and SC1). The DIABLO™ Rain is available in the 120/70 R17 size at the front and 200/60 R17 at the rear (only wet mix). Moto3 always use slicks, 100/70 R17 at the front and 120/70 R17 at the rear, both in SC1 and SC2. The DIABLO™ Rain wet model is available in the 100/70 R17 size at the front and 125/70 R17 at the rear.
The current range for “racing within easy reach” is therefore increasingly comprehensive, the result of the continuous engagement in competitions which has always been in the very DNA of Pirelli. Pirelli's first major appearance dates back to 1907: the brand equipped the Itala driven by Prince Scipione Borghese who won the most famous race of all time, the Beijing-Paris raid. An adventurous 17,000-kilometre route, set on rough, taxing and uneven roads that put drivers, vehicles and tyres truly to the test.
As far as motorcycles are concerned, the high-flying name of the brand's racing début is that of Tazio Nuvolari, after which Pirelli clinched a remarkable number of wins in the second half of the 1930s with another great rider of two- and four-wheeled vehicles, Piero Taruffi, notching up a series of successes that paved the way for the development of products incorporating ever-superior technology.
Pirelli's presence in competitions continued over the following decades, starring in the golden period of Italian motorcycle manufacturers of the Fifties until the Abstention Agreement signed in September 1957, which decreed the joint withdrawal from high-speed competitions of Moto Guzzi, Gilera and FB Mondial.
The races however did come to a stop, and Pirelli continued to follow the World Championships, later interpreting the strong technical segmentation that occurred during the Seventies and Eighties and pursuing higher goals in cross, enduro and off-road raids, gaining more and more teams and riders, claiming 81 world titles since then, in the off-road segment.
Technological innovation came in the 1980s with the introduction of the first radial motorcycle tyre, and other turning points took place in 1992, with the advent of the Dragon radial tyre, which in the Corsa version won four European titles and one World Supersport title, and in 2002, with the Supercorsa, becoming the Supersport and Tourist Trophy World Champion. In 2004, Pirelli became the single tyre supplier of the World Superbike, and this decisive event completes the circle with current events.
