Pirelli hopes to test its new MotoGP tyres with 2027-spec prototypes and full-time riders “halfway through” next year’s calendar.
With just over a year remaining before Pirelli replaces Michelin as the official tyre supplier in the premier class, none of the regular riders on the grid have yet been able to sample the Milan-based manufacturer’s new rubber.
Pirelli conducted its first test with 2027 tyres at Misano in September, but it was limited to test riders. All five manufacturers taking part in the world championship lent their test riders at Misano, with Augusto Fernandez on duty for Yamaha, Takaaki Nakagami representing Honda, Lorenzo Savadori riding for Aprilia, Dani Pedrosa turning laps for KTM, and Michele Pirro taking to the track on the Ducati.
The five riders rode their 2025 bikes with ride-height devices deactivated and aerodynamics modified in order to replicate the characteristics and performance of the 850cc prototypes due to debut in 2027.
While work continues at Pirelli’s development centre, its representatives believe they will not be able to deliver tyres to the regular riders until «midway through» the 2026 season.
This is further complicated by the likelihood of major grid changes in 2027, as the new technical regulations coincide with the start of MotoGP’s usual two-year contract cycle.
Pirelli
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
To date, no permanent MotoGP rider has had the opportunity to test the new tyre — something that is crucial for both Pirelli and the five manufacturers developing all-new bikes for 2027.
«We’ll definitely do a test at some point next season, I’d say around the middle of the calendar,» Pirelli’s director Giorgio Barbier told Motorsport.com.
«We’ve asked to do it with the updated bikes; that is, the 850cc ones. All the manufacturers will already be starting to work on that project, and for us it’s very important to have access to those prototypes, and to the riders who will be racing in 2027.”
Although Barbier did not confirm dates, Motorsport.com understands these tests will be held in June and September, possibly at Brno and Misano. However, between the middle of 2026 and the beginning of 2027, the grid could change substantially, with riders testing for one manufacturer and then racing for another the year after.
«That’s the main problem,» admitted Barbier. «Because there will probably be a lot of rider changes in all the teams next year. Normally, each manufacturer will be able to provide us with their 2027 bike, but they might not yet know what their rider line-up will be for that year.”
The first manufacturer to test a bike with an 850cc engine and Pirelli tyres was KTM, with Pol Espargaro turning his first laps in the prototype at Jerez earlier this month.
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