Pit Beirer is the sporting director of a KTM brand that wants to do differently compared to the competition in its MotoGP adventure. Thus, its RC16 is the only motorcycle with a tubular frame and the only one with in-house WP suspension. But that's not all. KTM has also developed its own rider pipeline. A truly traced furrow which is beginning to produce its effects and which must also be defended. Beirer talks about it, with passion and determination…
Technology is one thing, but the human touch is something else again. Especially in light of a transfer market which has regained strength since Yamaha is forced to urgently seek a successor to Maverick Vinales prematurely on departure. A situation which erases good intentions and makes us forget the acts of faith which fade before the interests of the moment. KTM, this year, discovered it when he saw the opponents circling around his hopes Raul Fernandez et Peter Acosta, or even attempt a lightning raid on its holder Miguel Oliveira. In the meantime, Brad Binder had signed a contract linking it to the Mattighofen factory until 2024.
In this turmoil, we must keep a cool head and our feet on the ground. For the moment, at KTM, the family remains united. And Pete Beirer is not the last to rejoice, because it also directly impacts the results of RC16. On Motorsport, he explains thus, remembering in particular the depressing start to the season, before the improvement and the new chassis at Mugello: “ in these difficult days, they don't go crazy, they don't immediately talk to another team or another manufacturer “, he congratulates himself. “ They put their trust in us. If we tell them we're not happy and we're going to work on it, they believe us.".
« They remained calm at that moment and that helped us a lot. If the pilots start to get crazy and nervous, it sure makes things even more difficult » specifies the sports director. “ I'm so happy to have these super cool guys. We worked on different important parts of the bike, we brought this, but the pilots brought more than that ».
Beirer: “only one team can win in the end”
« They had a better feeling and with that they grew again, and it's incredible what they brought. It shows the character of a team: only one team can win in the end, but we are nothing without fantastic drivers. The real measuring point is the driver on the track ". A tribute which is also a conviction. This becomes apparent when Pit Beirer talks about the industry KTM, activated after the departure of Pol Espargaro for Honda: “ when we lost Pol, we looked at other big names and then we said, “ You know what ? We'll stick to our own agenda', meaning Rookies Cup, Moto3, Moto2 and then that's how you get into MotoGP with KTM ».
He finishes : " I think we trusted our own system a year earlier than we initially wanted, and I'm so glad we did. ". Since then, KTM has four MotoGP victories. Three acquired in 2020 with Olive tree (2) et Brad Binder (1). Then again this season with the Portuguese who passed from Tech3 to the factory team and who has put himself back in the title race with solid results since Mugello. For 2022, one of the sector, Remy Gardner, is already assured of a lead from the French ally, while Raul fernandez et Peter Acosta are ready to pounce. A major strategic issue when we see Petronas idle despite the existence of his vein while at Ducati, we decided to delegate the mission to the academy VR46.
