KTM left the 2020 MotoGP scene in the most beautiful way, with a clear and flawless victory for the then Tech3 rider Miguel Oliveira on his home soil of Portimao. A good feeling which accompanied the Austrians during the winter break spent developing in the Mattighofen workshops. A dynamic which gave rise to the idea of an RC16 that could be the weapon of a title candidate in 2021. Then the Qatar tests arrived, at the end of which confidence was shaken. The same Oliveira even spoke of a wall when mentioning the Losail track for his machine. One week before the start of hostilities on the same route, Sebastian Risse, the technical director, explains…
KTM don't brag when looking at the combined rankings of the five days of testing spent at Qatar as an offseason. None of its drivers are in the top 15, and the best performer remains 1,3 seconds behind the best time. Miguel Oliveira was the best pilot KTM in 16th place. His teammate Brad Binder followed in 17th position. The newcomer Danilo Petrucci only found himself in 24th position, just behind his Tech3 teammate Iker Lecuona.
For a brand that was considered a protagonist in the title race, it’s a cold shower, even in the middle of the desert… “ Qatar is basically special, special this year ", says KTM technical director Sebastian Risse. " We didn't have the normal winter testing in November and December. We were therefore able to develop a lot, but test very little ».
A nuance that he refines as follows: “ we had to prepare the parts that we could test so that they would be ready for the pilots a week later. It was different from normal. We had to go through this program first ". The hunt for the clock was therefore not on the agenda.
« We had to manage the test program in such a way that we could use the different conditions. An example is that I can't test the aerodynamics when it's too windy. In these conditions, however, I can test the wind sensitivity. If the grip is poor, keep that in mind and test things again when the grip is better. It kept us busy ", admits Cracks.
« The results in the timesheets are definitely not what we wanted », declared the technical director of KTM. “ But we won't let that discourage us. We know Qatar is special. It doesn't matter if we had a good or bad season, the results in Qatar were always similar. We can't really implement our motorcycle's strengths here », resigns himself Cracks. " In the corner, we still have a certain weakness which is more noticeable than on the other circuits. We are aware of this. It gives us the opportunity to work on it and try things. But then we have to see where exactly the race weekend will position us ».
KTM: “we did not let this test devastate us”
Engineers can thus explain the delay compared to the competition. But failures quickly erode pilots’ confidence: “ of course it is very difficult for the pilot ", said Cracks on Motorsport-total. " As a competitor, he must first find his way. He needs time to feel comfortable on the bike. The rider would like to have time to fine-tune the bike. The engineers would like to have time to further develop the bike. All this must be reconciled ».
The manager of KTM don't worry about the opening of the season at Qatar : " I must say that our drivers are on a very positive track for the race weekend. They know what they can do. They know what and what they can already show. They understand very well that we had to go through this program ».
He ends with these offseason tests: “ of course, no one liked it, not even us as engineers. With a development program, classic racing teamwork is neglected, you don't take the time to adapt the bike to the conditions and thus give the rider the chance to perform. All pilots are aware of this “, Risse said. “ We accepted this as a team. So the atmosphere is not bad. We did not let this test deter us “, he assures before concluding: “ we now focus on the race weekend ».
