Pirelli Test Dispute Highlights Need for Unified MotoGP Rider Representation

With eight races still remaining in the 2026 season and uncertainty surrounding the Qatar round, much of the MotoGP grid is already focused on next year.

That is hardly surprising. Several riders are preparing for moves to new teams, while 2027 will introduce one of the most significant technical changes in MotoGP history.

The regulations will reduce engine capacity from 1000cc to 850cc in an effort to lower straight-line speeds, while also limiting the aerodynamic performance of the motorcycles.

For the riders, however, the most consequential change is the arrival of Pirelli as MotoGP’s sole tyre supplier, replacing Michelin.

Tyre characteristics and behaviour directly influence riding style, making it important for every rider to have the opportunity to test Pirelli’s products during the end-of-season group sessions. Yet because several competitors are changing teams for 2027, not all have been authorised to take part in the tests designed to introduce the new tyres.

MotoGP riders lack a unified voice on key issues

The issue affects factory riders including Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Fabio Quartararo, as well as satellite competitors such as Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

It also exposes a wider problem: MotoGP has no fully representative riders’ association capable of speaking for the entire grid in situations like this.

Riders have raised the concern themselves. Formula 1 has the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, while MotoGP has no equivalent organisation, despite the idea being discussed in the past.

An individual rider can object, but a collective position carries far more weight. A united group might have been able to persuade the manufacturers to reconsider their approach.

If riders cannot find common ground on an issue that affects the entire grid, reaching agreement on other matters will be even more difficult. That should serve as a warning to MotoGP.

Pirelli tyres

Photo by: Motorsport.com

“For me it would have been nice to try the Pirelli tyres, also here next Monday. I tried to negotiate with KTM to see if it was possible to test the bike, but they said no,” said Enea Bastianini.

“It would have been better for everyone to try the Pirellis before Valencia. It would have been better if it had been mandatory for everyone, but that is not the plan, it wasn’t scheduled for us.”

Many riders fear they may have only one day to test the Pirelli tyres before the end of the year. That session would take place at Valencia, where the cold and often unpredictable weather could further limit track time.

Unequal testing opportunities are not unprecedented when riders change teams, but the controversy here stems from the fact that some riders have already sampled the Pirellis while others have not.

“I think having a riders’ association could help in these circumstances, because we will arrive in Valencia without ever having tried the Pirellis and we will have one day of testing, and if it rains, what do we do?” added Bastianini, who will move from Tech3 KTM to Trackhouse Aprilia next year.

“We will have only a few hours, so it’s not right to arrive there without having tried the tyres. They should have made it possible and mandatory for all MotoGP riders, or at least those who will be riding next year, to try the tyres.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio, who will leave Ducati for KTM at the end of the season, echoed his fellow Italian’s concerns.

“It’s really difficult because at the moment, as usual, we don’t have a riders’ association or anything like that. But at the moment even the riders who could be part of it could be against the other riders.

“It’s a complicated situation now and I think the parties involved can’t do much, apart from MotoGP itself, which can decide how much time a rider has available before the first race.

“Even the regulations we have for the training bikes are strict. Certainly, the situation is not the same for everyone.”

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

What options existed for riders changing teams?

As Pol Espargaro has also noted, riders such as Nicolo Bulega will have extensive experience with Pirelli’s tyres by the time he makes his MotoGP debut next year.

That experience comes not only from competing in the World Superbike Championship, where Pirelli is the tyre supplier, but also from Bulega’s involvement in Ducati’s development of its 850cc MotoGP motorcycle.

He cannot be criticised for gaining that experience, but it is understandable that rivals facing a steeper learning curve are frustrated by the imbalance.

Once again, the absence of a collective rider voice is clear. The question is whether a practical solution was available.

Teams are understandably reluctant to allow a departing rider to test for a rival manufacturer and provide information about the performance and characteristics of its 2027 bike.

Even so, Pirelli tyres have not been used on current prototypes under an agreed arrangement with Michelin, apart from an initial test involving modified and detuned motorcycles.

The original concept was for 2026 prototypes to continue testing on the existing tyres while the 2027 machines ran exclusively on Pirellis, preventing any overlap between the two programmes.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Foto di: Andreas Solaro / AFP via Getty Images

Bastianini believes departing riders should nevertheless have been given the chance to test the new tyres on this year’s motorcycles, ensuring everyone began with the same basic level of preparation.

“I don’t think we necessarily had to run the 850cc bike. The test would have been fine even with a 1000cc bike.

“At least we could have had some feedback to understand what to expect next year and what to work on. It seems like a small advantage, but in my opinion it’s quite a big advantage,” added the Tech3 rider, who stressed that the teams would also have benefited.

“I don’t know why the organisers didn’t think about the test, about the fact that all the riders would have needed to try the Pirellis and not just one factory rider, but all the riders, because it’s an advantage for everyone.

“It’s not a disadvantage, because I can give feedback to the team while I am testing the tyres for the future. For me, it would have been an advantage for everyone, for the team and for the riders.”

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