MotoGP, Dunlop renew supply contract

BIRMINGHAM, England (Dec. 23, 2014) — The organizers of the MotoGP World Championship have renewed a race tire supply contract with Dunlop Motorsport for the Moto2 and Moto3 categories.

The deal between Dorna Sports S.L. and Dunlop Motorsport includes trackside advertising at international FIM MotoGP World Championship events. Neither the length of the extension nor financial terms were disclosed.

Dunlop has been the sole tire supplier for both classes since they were launched in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Moto2 is for motorcycles with Honda 4-stroke engines up to 600cc in displacement, while Moto3 is for bikes up with 4-stroke, one-cylinder engines up to 125cc displacement.

MotoGP's top class, for bikes with engines up to 1,000cc displacement, will use Bridgestone race tires exclusively in 2015 before switching to Michelin in 2016.

Pau Serracanta, managing director of commercial area at Dorna Sports lauded Dunlop for having played a “significant role in the development of both Moto2 and Moto3 since the individual classes were originated….”

Sanjay Khanna, managing director, Dunlop Motorsport and Motorcycle Europe, said, “The intensity of the racing makes for compelling viewing. We look forward to increasing our promotion of these classes during the coming years in a way that will help increase the focus on the rising talent and quality of racing.”

Dunlop Motorsport, a unit of Goodyear Dunlop Europe, produces competition motorcycle tires at a plant in Montluçon, France, which makes both street and track two-wheeler tires.

Production was moved there last year from Goodyear Dunlop's Fort Dunlop factory in Erdington, England, after the firm's lease on the 99-year-old factory expired.