When KTM announced that Mike Leitner would no longer be the director of the official team entered in MotoGP, many compared this decision with the mixed results of the 2021 season, to guess a barely disguised sanction. An idea reinforced by the revelation of the name of a replacement, in this case Guidotti, left from the Ducati fold as Fabiano Sterlacchini had previously been. However, Ducati, at the moment, is the bike which is winning and which promises even more in 2022. There remains this idea of disavowal which did not do justice to the work carried out by Mike Leitner for seven years, i.e. the very beginnings of the RC16 project . So KTM, with its sporting director Pit Beirer and said Leitner agreed on a version which will remain the official one in the eyes of history…
No, Mike leitner has not been disowned and his work accomplished over so many seasons will not be erased from the beautiful history of the RC16 in MotoGP. Recent decisions taken by KTM which remove him from his position as team director are in fact a strategic redeployment otherwise well thought out and endorsed by the person who leaves his assignment without yet knowing the next one. Which reveals a reflection that is nonetheless unfinished. But the message is that good relationships are preserved and that, whatever happens, all these beautiful people will remain good friends.
Public chat Motorsport-total, the sports director champions an official version: “ I would like to point out that there is no separation with Mike, because he is still at KTM », underlines Pete Beirer. “ He is and remains a friend of the house. Mike gave his all to this project, day and night for seven years. We have decided jointly that we wanted take other paths in team management. We must take a new step in the project and more strongly separate sports management and motorcycle development ».
He even repeats: “ It was a shared opinion between Mike and I that something had to change radically in the future, because otherwise we will never make the leap forward. That's when it was decided that we would change for the future ". And what does it say Mike leitner ? He is in unison: “ now the project has reached a point where it needs to be implemented strategically. I see it that way too ».
KTM: “Mike Leitner helped enable change"
According to Leitner, Guidotti is the right team manager for KTM : " to take on this role on the circuit, I think he's a good man. I think he will fill the role well. He is not someone who can make technical decisions. But no one demands it from him. It takes a functional team and has nothing to build. I invested a lot of heart and soul into ensuring we had the right people ».
Pete Beirer plussilk: “ Mike helped enable change. There is no misunderstanding, just pride in what has been accomplished. We are very grateful to Mike, there is no doubt about it. Of course, there is also melancholy for him because he is now abandoning his baby. On the other hand, he accomplished something huge. Now is the time to change things. Fresh blood, young engineers. You must now move on ».
So much so that the incense Mike leitner does not know what his future could now hold at KTM ... " I am in tune with the decisions that are currently being made » says Leitner. " I will then consider in what role I will be seen. It also depends on where KTM wants to see me. Now I look positively at the future and look forward to it ". So, depending on the outlook, this future will not necessarily be with KTM.
Finally, with the restructuring, KTM wants to ensure more calm. Sterlacchini will coordinate technical development in Austria. The test team around Dani Pedrosa will experiment with new developments. And the racing team should focus on the full performance of the whole. The tests and other new developments to be evaluated in the middle of the Grand Prix which have destabilized the drivers more than they have excited them should no longer take place: “ at one point we didn't draw the right line and brought too much to the racing team " finished Pete Beirer. " Fewer pieces simply have to go into the racing team, so there must be more peace and quiet. Drivers lacked safety and were not given the opportunity to deal with normal racing matters ». Miguel Oliveira will it regain its serenity in 2022 with this rationalized approach?
