After the Catalan Grand Prix, we will undoubtedly see a little more clarity in the always opaque transfer market in MotoGP. The fog that emerged from a Suzuki Esctar box slated for euthanasia made the environment even more anxiety-provoking. But at KTM, we lit a lantern by recognizing that we were talking to three riders with proven experience. Enough to trigger a warning light for Miguel Oliveira who is having difficulty clarifying his intentions…
Because this is indeed the fate of the Portuguese, winner this season in the rain of Indonesian Grand Prix, which is at stake in this conversation that the sports director of the Austrian brand granted to speedweek. On his current pilot, he first says: “ Miguel scored a victory in Mandalika in March. It was in the rain, but in the MotoGP category you have to achieve such success first. Miguel continues to benefit from our trust ».
Then he points out that he has a teammate in his box Brad Binder from which we should draw inspiration: “ no one is 100% sure of their future at the moment, except Brad Binder, who still does an extraordinary job for us and is an incredible fighter ". It will be remembered that the South African is under contract until 2024. But for Olive tree, the lease ends at the end of this year while the option must be exercised or not this summer…
But the situation has changed since the Monday of the Jerez test which followed the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix… “ After Suzuki withdrew, we decided to take our time to look at what was happening in the rider market. Above all, we want to be absolutely sure that the riders who negotiate with us really want to ride with us. Because you need the full commitment of the pilots. You have to believe in what we do in MotoGP » says Beirer, thus showing who has the upper hand in these discussions.
KTM: “ we want to be absolutely sure that the riders who negotiate with us really want to ride with us«
« We are now in the middle of this round of negotiations, in which my esteemed colleagues from other factory teams are also participating » he adds. “ It's always refreshing to be able to talk again with other pilots and see how they see us, how they see our bikes on the track. They tell us why they want a KTM because they see this and that on the track ". And he lets it go: “ that's why we're having interesting conversations right now, with Pol Espargaró, with Jack Miller and with Alex Rins ».
It will be recalled that the first mentioned was from the early hours of the RC16 project before heading to Repsol Honda. The other two are Grand Prix winners, with a special mention for the Australian who revealed himself on KTM in Moto3 and whose manager is none other thanAki Ajo, who is not unknown in Mattighofen.
