Bridgestone entered the Grand Prix motorcycle racing premier class in 2002, the inaugural year of the MotoGP four-stroke era. The company's motorsport ambitions were driven in part by the aim of building brand recognition in markets where Bridgestone lagged behind European rivals, particularly Michelin, which had previously dominated the series.
Bridgestone initially competed against Michelin as a tyre supplier, equipping selected teams with their compounds while Michelin supplied the majority of the grid including the dominant Repsol Honda and factory Yamaha squads. The competitive tyre battle that defined the mid-2000s drove rapid development from both suppliers.
A pivotal shift occurred when Ducati partnered with Bridgestone in the mid-2000s. Casey Stoner, riding a Bridgestone-equipped Ducati Desmosedici, won the 2007 MotoGP World Championship, demonstrating the tyre's ability to deliver championship-level performance. That season's result ended Michelin's run of dominance and accelerated Bridgestone's commercial position within the paddock.
When Michelin withdrew from MotoGP at the end of the 2006 season, all teams shifted to Bridgestone for 2007. This effectively made Bridgestone the de facto sole supplier before the arrangement was formalised by the FIA and Dorna. From the 2009 season, Bridgestone was the exclusive tyre supplier under an official contract, a position they held through the 2015 season.
The sole supplier era saw Bridgestone compounds underpin multiple consecutive world championships. Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi, and Casey Stoner each won titles on Bridgestone tyres during this window. The company invested heavily in developing compounds suited to the varying circuit characteristics of the MotoGP calendar, working closely with factory teams to optimise construction and compound selection.
Rossi's advisory role reflected the depth of Bridgestone's engagement with the championship beyond a straightforward commercial supply arrangement; his feedback contributed to compound development, and his title victories in 2008 and 2009 were closely associated with the Bridgestone brand.
In May 2014, Bridgestone announced it would leave MotoGP at the end of the 2015 season. The company indicated the decision reflected a reassessment of business priorities in an evolving commercial environment.
Michelin returned to MotoGP as the exclusive supplier from the 2016 season. Bridgestone's exit marked the end of a fourteen-year presence in Grand Prix motorcycle racing that had included the complete domination of the sole-supplier era. The 100-victory milestone in 2012 remains one marker of the scale of Bridgestone's impact on the series during its tenure.
Bridgestone's involvement in MotoGP was part of a wider motorsport investment that included Formula One supply from 1997 to 2010. The company supplied tyres to champions including Mika Hakkinen and McLaren in 1998 and supported multiple Scuderia Ferrari and Michael Schumacher championship campaigns in the 2001 to 2004 period. Bridgestone announced in November 2009 that it would not renew its Formula One contract beyond 2010, with Pirelli subsequently taking over as Formula One tyre supplier from 2011. The simultaneous withdrawal from both open-wheel and motorcycle Grand Prix racing marked a significant reduction in Bridgestone's elite motorsport profile.