The satellite team of the ambitious and impatient manufacturer KTM heads towards Mugello with a heart full of joy. A good mood following the performance of the only Pol Espargaro during the last deadline at Le Mans. Starting twelfth, he crashed his RC16 equipped with latest developments to take a good sixth place, less than six seconds from winner Marc Márquez. A feat that has become the basis of everything when wearing the KTM colors…
While Pol Espargaro played the big names, the Tech3 team brought home points. A mission accomplished by its two pilots who are Miguel Oliveira et Hafizh Syahrin. In Italy, the Austrian machines managed by the French should also have the latest discoveries made by the Mattighofen factory. Enough to maintain the hope of a good result even if the boss Hervé Poncharal warns: Mugello is a justice of the peace…
« Going to Mugello for the MotoGP weekend is always a great pleasure. It's a special place, the circuit is magnificent and the landscape in Tuscany is a unique region in the world and we love going there, racing there. It's a place where the fans are incredibly hot and it's one of the most exciting and enjoyable places on the calendar, at least at the heart of the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team » begins the Frenchman.
« Going there, we also cannot forget what Pol Espargaró and the KTM RC16 achieved in the French Grand Prix, an incredible result for all of us and a great motivation. He showed the whole team and mainly the riders what KTM can do, and how hard KTM works. Pol had chassis and engine developments. These developments were obviously a step. The race he had was incredible and to finish so close to the winner was a real boost for everyone involved in this program.”
“Now we have to race at Mugello, a very difficult track for the riders and the bike. Compared to Le Mans, it requires much more top speed. It's a very fast circuit with a very long straight, so it will be interesting to see where we are and how we compare to the opposition. It's a fluid route, with lots of quick changes of direction. So clearly this is a solid test for the bike that we can use as a benchmark to see where we are.”
Syahrin, French MotoGP 2019
“I think both Miguel and Hafizh had a good result at Le Mans. Everything was difficult there, the track, the weather conditions, but I think after the superb performance of Pol Espargaró and the fact that all four KTM bikes were in the points for the very first time, we can talk about a fantastic feat. Clearly we see the project moving forward and we can't wait to see what will happen at the magnificent Mugello.".
He finishes : " it is a very important moment of the championship, races take place every two weeks. We know that this is the time when you need to score points to position yourself well in the leaderboard. So it’s clearly a key moment of the season and we hope to be able to be there.”
“We would of course like, as usual, to be closer to the front men. We would also like to try to get closer to Pol Espargaró and continue working. I think the fact that KTM has four different bikes and four different riders in the MotoGP class this year with different riding styles has helped speed up development and allowed us to try out new, perhaps more extreme, directions. . So overall we are on the right track and we are proud to be in the KTM MotoGP project. Like many other teams and drivers, I mean, we can't wait to get there and start FP1 in Italy! ».
