At the end of a 2017 Moto3 season where, it must be admitted, KTM was spanked by Honda, it had been decided that the manufacturer from Mattighofen would no longer put its eggs in one basket. In its new strategy unveiled to be a real sector from the Red Bull Rookie Cup to MotoGP, the Austrians have promised to support their client teams in the same way. The Ajo troops have thus been reduced to the bare minimum with the loss of the title investor who gives wings. But now we learn that the magic drink will ultimately still be there...
However, the one-driver plan still stands and this one will be Darryn binder who is obviously no stranger to the man who brought the last title in the category to KTM, and named Brad. For the rest, it's the CEO Stefan Pierer which states: “ we want to transform our system a little in the Moto3 World Championship. The Red Bull Ajo team has always had the vocation of a work team, which has put the other KTM teams in an uncomfortable psychological position. However, they have always benefited from the same technical support ».
« We never favored a team. This is also prohibited by the regulations. Nevertheless, there was always the suspicion that Ajo got the new parts first. Ajo will continue with a single driver. All our drivers will be treated the same. We want to come back in 2018 and win more races. Moto3 is a very important class for us. But we are going to change the system: together with Red Bull, we want to sign contracts with Red Bull Cup rookies and transfer these talents to our customer teams. "
In 2018, fourteen riders will ride KTMs instead of the ten in 2017. In the meantime, Mahindra has withdrawn from competition. Furthermore, the regulations specify that all teams must have identical engines and motorcycles, with the same updates that must be provided simultaneously, whether airbox, chassis, aerodynamics or gearbox .
