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Michelin vs Dunlop in 500

We need to take at least a cursory look at the tire wars of the late eighties and early nineties to understand the growing perception of tires as the deciding factor in motorcycle racing, something that was not widely appreciated by journalists and fans 25 years ago.

Briefly then: By 1982 Goodyear had gone back home, mission accomplished, and Roberts was on Dunlops battling Michelin. After taking three titles with Goodyear, Yamaha seemed to lose the plot in 1981 and 1982 and while they tried several engine configurations, preparing, it seems, for the inevitable Honda challenge that would come when the brave but futile NR500 four-stroke project was finally retired.

While Yamaha confused Roberts with a combination of inline fours, a V4, and even a rotary valve attempt, Suzuki, racing their 'obsolete' RG500 rotary valve square four, took the titles in 1981 and 1982 thanks to Team Gallina riders Marco Lucchinelli and Franco Uncini. The showdown between Yamaha and Honda finally came in 1983 and Roberts, still on Dunlops, lost his final bid to regain the title in an epic season-long battle with Freddie Spencer on a Michelin-shod three-cylinder Honda two stroke.

After several years of give and take between Dunlop and Michelin, the French family-owned giant grabbed a significant advantage and, jumping ahead, by 1990 everyone who was anyone was on Michelins. The Michelin system of A-tire and B-tire allocation filled many pages of race reports. Michelin, with their successful radial, were in such a dominant position that they could decide who would be competitive and who would not. They tried to work out an equitable system only to find themselves suddenly being blamed for crashes by riders desperate to earn an A-tire for the final qualifying session and the race by being the fastest B-tire rider in the opening qualifying sessions.

Only the top rider from each of the three competing Japanese companies had guaranteed A-tires for the season in 1990. That meant Eddie Lawson (not Rainey) for the factory Marlboro Yamaha team, Gardner (not Mick Doohan) for the factory Rothmans Honda team and Kevin Schwantz (not Kevin Magee or, later, Niall Mackenzie) on the factory Lucky Strike Suzuki team. A fourth Michelin A-tire allocation commitment would go to the top Michelin rider outside the three pre-selected riders after the first three races. Rainey won that right.

The French Gualoises Sonauto Yamaha team with Christian Sarron and the Ducados Yamaha team with Juan Garriga had opted for Dunlop and complained about it often, while Sito Pons in his rookie year on the Campsa Honda rode the entire season on Michelin B-tires and was one of them most outspoken critics of the system.

Michelin executives, after their tires routinely dominated the 1990 season, were confused and angered by the negative publicity, and suddenly announced at the end of the season that Michelin were withdrawing from Grand Prix racing altogether. This sent Yamaha and Suzuki running to Dunlop, who were delighted to get such great riders and teams on their product. Honda, however, played a commercial trump card and Michelin sheepishly agreed to supply the factory Hondas team. Some feared that Michelin superiority would lead to Honda domination, but that wasn't the case.

The 1991 season was a great one with Rainey and Schwantz on Dunlop finishing one-two and winning 12 races (Rainey seven and Schwantz five) between them and leaving the remaining three to Gardner (two) and Doohan (one) on Michelin.

As a result of the controversial 1990 season and Michelin's threat to withdraw, IRTA (at the urging of Sito Pons) and the FIM discussed, separately (since they were on a political collision course at the time), the idea of introducing control tires in 500. This talk faded when Michelin came back strong with Suzuki and Yamaha in addition to Honda, and most attention was focused on the political and commercial battles between Dorna and Bernie Ecclestone (and IRTA) for control of Grand Prix racing.