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Written by:
Dennis Noyes
01/13/2008 - 07:00 PM
Borrego Springs, CA
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Why Pirelli?
To many in both paddocks, WSBK and BSB, the choice seemed unfair since Pirelli, under free market rules, have enjoyed very little success in the Superbike class, at least not recently.
Pirelli were, in fact, the tires fitted to Fred Merkel's Honda RC30 when the American won the first-ever World Superbike title in 1988, but the Italian tires, very competitive in World Supersport, were far off the pace in WSBK in 2003.
Why Pirelli were chosen over Dunlop in World Superbike (Michelin was not interested in bidding for the rights) is a controversial subject that still rankles some. FGSport says they offered Dunlop and Michelin the right to bid. Michelin's attitude was that they would never bid for a single-tire contract, that such doings were beneath their dignity, and they stuck to this attitude when they were invited to bid against Bridgestone in F1, but reversed this position last season when Dorna threatened to go to a single-tire rule in MotoGP. Dunlop denies that a formal invitation was ever extended and took a complaint to authorities in the European Community, but without the satisfaction of even a reprimand being given to FGSport by the relevant European Community committee.
In both cases the promoters, FGSport in WSBK and MCRCB in BSB, justified their decisions to seek a single supplier by claiming that the pecking order established by the dominant companies left the smaller teams with no option to competitive tires and, therefore, no possibility of attracting sponsorship.
According to Stuart Higgs, BSB Series and Race Director, no payment was required by bidders who were requested to submit a plan for fair distribution of tires and at prices similar to those charged commercially by suppliers to private BSB teams by Dunlop and Michelin in 2006. Bidders were judged on pricing, project management, testing, controls, distribution, and delivery.
The decision to go with Pirelli was, as Higgs described it, because Pirelli's offer promised "the greatest sporting impact." Asked to explain what this phrase means, Higgs replied, "'Sporting impact' means the greatest opportunity to re-ignite the competitive and sporting spectacle."
The cost of tires to those teams that bought them last year will be about the same, and -- because there is no obligation of the teams to carry any Pirelli signage -- the top teams will be free to negotiate agreements with Pirelli that will compensate for their costs, eliminate them, or perhaps even exceed them.
Now we are used to the system in motorcycle racing and the fact that Pirelli, under the direction of Giorgio Barbier, have gotten it right in WSBK, in Canada, and also in the American MotoST Endurance series, has changed the minds of many promoters, riders, team owners, and fans about control tire racing.
While single-tire regulations have been common in motorsports for many years, it seemed, however, until 2003 that motorcycle roadracing was somehow above this kind of "meddling."
The Good Old Days of Tire Wars
Back in the late eighties before I ever heard the concept of control tires used in any but the most contemptible context, I used to hang around the Dunlop tire fitting bays in the Grand Prix paddocks to watch Wayne Rainey take on the lads at darts or stop by Michelin to see if I could get the French tire technicians to say something what rear Wayne Gardner was running… or, during their brief flirtation with the 500 class, I'd stop by Pirelli for the best coffee in the paddock and a word with Peter Ingley, after he left Dunlop, about whatever Pirelli had for Frankie Chili that weekend.
We journalists took tire wars for granted in motorcycle roadracing and, as journalists, we probably didn't really understand just how important tires were in the equation because Kenny Roberts came over in 1978 and won on Goodyears… so maybe all tires were round and black and the rider made all the difference. Those of us who raced in our national championships (I was a Spanish license holder), understood the game a bit better than our non-racing colleagues and knew that there were, as Michelin always said, "good tires and better tires" from each manufacturer. The Grand Prix 500 tire situation, however, seemed like a meritocracy and the balance of power, after the Roberts aberration with Goodyear, once again seemed level between Dunlop and Michelin.
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