For KTM, the Austrian Grand Prix at home turned into something of a nightmare…
Abandonment of Espargaro Pol due to a defective rear brake sensor, and antepenultimate place of Bradley Smith 36 seconds behind Andrea Dovizioso, the winner of the race. Alone Mika Kallio saved the honor of the men of Mattighofen, with a nice 10th place.
But this was not enough to avoid a very clear message from Pit Beirer, the Director of KTM Motorsport, and an even clearer Stefan Pierer, KTM CEO: either Bradley Smith significantly and quickly increases his level of performance, or...we can imagine everything. Even getting paid not to run anymore!
The site speedweek, very close to the Austrian team, echoed this and provided all the details.
Pit Beirer: « We have indeed made it very clear to Bradley over the last few weeks that we expect a better performance from a factory driver. Either something is wrong with his riding style or it comes down to our bike that he currently doesn't feel comfortable on the KTM. »
“We spoke with his team boss Tom Jojic, but it doesn't change anything if we change a detail in the suspension or elsewhere, as long as Bradley is two seconds slower than Pol Espargaró, like in Brno. We need a major breakthrough…”
Whatever happens, KTM will keep financial commitments…
“A lot of people would probably be happy if we looked at another driver now. But we have a different approach. We affirm that we respect the contracts. We're sure Bradley hasn't completely forgotten how to ride a motorcycle. In 2017 he was very close to pole position times several times, but usually needed two more days. So something is wrong in the harmony between rider and bike. We are aware of it: We are in MotoGP with a new project. Maybe we should be careful in development. When the pilot expresses five desires, perhaps we should not jump as quickly as possible on the five desires, but proceed in small steps, step by step, and first develop a stable foundation. We hope that in the near future we can provide Bradley with a motorcycle that he feels comfortable with and that gives him more confidence. But it would be nice if, next to Pol and Mika Kallio, Bradley helped with development on Friday and Saturday. We have two-year contracts with both drivers and we are loyal to them. We decided last year on Pol and Bradley. And we would now like to move forward. »
Explanations that the CEO of KTM does not provide, Stefan pierer, which, by all accounts, goes straight to the point: “We are very grateful to Bradley. He was the first MotoGP rider to believe in our project, when we were still a completely unknown quantity. We have not forgotten this. But we want improvement from him. We are waiting for the overseas races in October to decide which driver duo we will organize for 2018. And there is one thing I would like to say: we do not break contracts. We will meet our financial obligations for 2018 in all respects. »
The Speedweek site therefore develops the following scenario: Test driver Mika Kallio (34 years old) could then exchange places and roles with the British driver.
– Mika Kallio official driver
– Bradley Smith test driver and wild card
Swap roles, but not salaries! On this point, Bradley Smith has nothing to worry about.
The pressure on Bradley Smith is therefore undoubtedly increasing. We will see if this leads to change. In the Briton's defense, it is worth remembering that he suffered a serious knee injury last year at Oschersleben, before badly damaging two fingers in June this year.
But being completely honest, we can't help but notice that Bradley Smith has completely transformed… since the arrival of Michelin tires!
