It is with a touch of disappointment that the KTM troops arrive at Jerez to begin their European campaign. And for good reason. The first three meetings put them back in their place as the youngest manufacturer in the category by breaking the great dynamic initiated last year from Assen. A deadline since which the RC16 have always been classified between ninth and eleventh place. The sports boss Pete Beirer wants to reconnect with this series. And for this, he will put in place a new strategy…
KTM's results at the end of the overseas campaign come down to eleventh and thirteenth places taken by Pol Espargaro in Argentina and Austin. It remains that in Texas, the teammate of Bradley Smith becoming transparent again was invited in Q.2. A surprise, when he was far from the mark on Friday. Which gave an idea to Pit Beirer...
Public chat speedweek, he explains : “In Texas, Pol qualified twelfth and that's exactly where we need to be. The fact is that we do too many tests on Grand Prix Friday. This does not give us confidence with a view to qualifying while, in the meantime, our competitors are working towards this objective. On Friday, we try too many new things and we are too far from the leaders. Pol always asks to evaluate new products, but they are not always a gain. The technicians are happy with his approach, but in the end, it disturbs us more than anything else.”
So come to Jerez to gauge the new direction taken by KTM. Which will be all the easier to assume as there will be the third pilot Rock, hired as a guest, to carry out these famous tests…
