The departure from the Grands Prix of the Indian manufacturer Mahindra poses big problems for the teams which trusted it, in particular for the one which officially represents it and wears its colors, the “Aspar Mahindra Moto3” team of Jorge Martinez which runs Albert Arenas and Lorenzo Dalla Porta.
There will of course be a shortfall for Martinez, since Mahindra will no longer finance his team in 2018, and the KTM will have to be paid. And they will necessarily be Austrian machines, because Honda already has its customer teams and has no intention of changing them. KTM's new customers will therefore have to hope that the Austrian manufacturer raises the performance level of its Moto3s, despite the involvement of its racing department in Moto2 and MotoGP.
For Aspar, KTM will not be a discovery, but a sort of return to basics. Thus in 2012 Jonas Folger finished third in Moto3 in Indianapolis on a Kalex-KTM behind Luis Salom and Sandro Cortese, on behalf of the “Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3”. Jorge Martinez used KTM engines from 2012 to 2014, when at the end of this last season the manufacturer decided to no longer supply Moto3 engines to Kalex.
Aspar preferred not to choose Honda because Emilio Alzamora (Marc Marquez's manager) had priority with the Japanese manufacturer for his Estrella Galicia team, and Martinez did not want to be served second. He signed a three-year contract (2015 to 2017) to represent the Indians, with the “Mapfre Team Mahindra” composed of Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. In 2016, these same two drivers found themselves within the “Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team” with two victories for Bagnaia at Assen and Sepang. John McPhee, with a Mahindra disguised as a Peugeot, won in Brno in the rain.
For 2018, Aspar therefore moves to KTM with Albert Arenas and Dennis Foggia. “ I saw the KTM Factory Racing project in Munderfing and was impressed » Martinez told Speedweek.com. “ It's amazing what this European manufacturer has built. I look forward to the new cooperation ". And more so if there are affinities, if one day KTM and Aspar find common ground for MotoGP, where the Spaniard currently lines up Ducatis for Karel Abraham and Álvaro Bautista.
But we are not there yet, because as Jorge explains, “ I have very good MotoGP equipment with Ducati. And with Gigi Dall'Igna, I have a first-rate relational contact since my Aprilia period. The support is top quality. Now we are planning for the 2018 season. Then we will see later. »
Photos © Aspar Team
Source: Günther Wiesinger for speedweek. com
