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Originally posted by RichardC:
What is this and its purpose?

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Michelin will continue as the official tyre supplier in MotoGP until at least the end of the 2026 season after securing a new three-year contract extension.
Having taken on the role of sole tyre supplier in the premier class back in 2016, it has played a key role in creating the closest competition across the championship's history, with 10 of the closest top 15 finishes of all-time being set since 2018.

Michelin had already been set to remain as the official tyre supplier in MotoGP until the end of 2023 thanks to its existing deal, with the new agreement covering the 2024, 2025 and 2026 world championship seasons.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, believes the recent period of close racing and historical feats makes the continuation of the partnership between Michelin and MotoGP an obvious one and is delighted with the deal.

"We're very proud to continue our partnership with Michelin until at least 2026," Ezpeleta said.

"Michelin has been a vital partner for MotoGP since it became the tyre supplier to the premier class in 2016, helping us to create one of the greatest eras of competition in motorcycle grand prix racing history.

"I'm delighted that we will reach a decade of collaboration and I hope we can continue building on this incredible foundation together. This agreement is fantastic news for all of us in the championship."

"We are very happy with the results we've obtained since Michelin's return to MotoGP. We are particularly proud of the technological progress made with our products, as well as the many records broken together with our partners," Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, added.

"This championship offers fans a captivating spectacle, and it's accessible via digital platforms unparalleled in motorsport.

"Being a partner of MotoGP therefore represents a valuable opportunity for Michelin to engage the public and players across the discipline in its vision, brand, tyres and innovation.

"For Michelin, motorsport is a laboratory that encourages the transfer of its expertise and sustainable solutions for the benefit of everyone."

The new contract also includes Michelin taking the title sponsor slot for one grand prix in each season the deal covers.

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Morbidelli has been long-expected to join the factory Yamaha squad next season following Maverick Vinales’ decision to quit the team a year earlier than planned back in June.

However, Vinales’ suspension following the Styrian Grand Prix and subsequent ousting mid-season by Yamaha has forced the Japanese manufacturer to promote Morbidelli from Petronas SRT early to take Vinales’ place.

Morbidelli has been sidelined since June after undergoing knee surgery and will return in this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix – the scene of his maiden MotoGP victory last year.

Yamaha has also elected to lock the three-time MotoGP race winner into a long-term deal through to the end of 2023.

“I’m very pleased and happy about facing this weekend and this highly anticipated new chapter with the Factory Yamaha team,” Morbidelli said.

“I've been trying to recover as much as possible for the final stage of this championship.

“I wanted to make my comeback at a track I know well and have great memories of, like Misano.

”I'm looking forward to jumping on the bike and starting my journey with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team.

“Of course, I need and I want to thank all the people who made this happen, starting with [Hiroshi] Ito-san, Lin [Jarvis], Maio [Meregalli], [Takahiro] Sumi-san, the VR46 Riders Academy, and all other people who made this collaboration possible.”

Dovizioso has spent most of 2021 on the sidelines having elected to take a sabbatical following his axing by Ducati at the end of the 2020 campaign.

The 15-time MotoGP race winner intended to mount a full-time return in 2022, which initially looked like it would come with Aprilia after he took up a testing programme with the Italian marque from April.

However, that avenue closed on him when Aprilia signed Vinales for 2022 instead – though Vinales’ ousting from Yamaha in the wake of his suspension after the Styrian Grand Prix and Franco Morbidelli’s promotion to its factory squad offered Dovizioso a lifeline.

He has been drafted in to replace Morbidelli for the rest of the year at SRT, and will remain with the team into 2022 aboard a factory Yamaha – signing directly with the Japanese marque.

SRT will become a new entity entirely in 2022 helmed by its current team management, as the current Sepang Racing outfit will quit MotoGP altogether at the end of this year after title sponsor Petronas elected to do the same.

“Racing with Yamaha has always been my dream, and that's why when the opportunity arrived I did not think twice, although I know it's going to be a tough challenge for me,” Dovizioso said.

"I've got many things ahead of me to learn: a new bike, a new team, a new working system.

“It‘s a big challenge that starts at Misano, my home GP. This makes it even more exciting. I can't wait to be aboard my M1!”

Dovizioso spent one season on a Yamaha back in 2012 when he rode for Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 squad, with the Italian scoring five podiums that year before switching to the factory Ducati team in 2013.

The three-time championship runner-up will be Valentino Rossi’s fifth teammate in 2021, with Morbidelli’s knee injury back in June leading to the likes of Garrett Gerloff, Cal Crutchlow and Jake Dixon lining up on the ‘A-spec’ SRT M1.

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"Well about Marc, I think all the riders know what Marc needs, no? He always needs a wheel to be strong or something," Mir told reporters after qualifying 11th, the result of an erroneous dash message to pit that left him no chance to complete his final fast lap.

"It is difficult to understand for me how an eight-time world champion cannot make his job on his own and always needs some wheel [to follow].

"But it is a game that Marc always loves to play and that's it. Today was me. I try to make my job and I don’t care if I have someone on my back. I try to give my 100 percent and work for the race."