MotoGP: KTM won't send its test team to Portimao and here's why

At KTM we are working hard to rectify the situation after the missed target at Sepang of the right window in terms of performance. The six days in Malaysia, if we add the three days of the Shakedown to those of the test itself, dedicated to the regular drivers, revealed that something was missing on the orange KTM RC16s and the red GASGAS. The next Portimao deadline, which will offer two last days of testing before taking the plunge into the 2023 MotoGP season, will therefore be important. They are expected to be revelatory by the Austrians in what will await them at the same place for the Portuguese Grand Prix which will launch hostilities. And yet, the Mattighofen staff will not send its test team to the Algarve. For what ? Here is the answer…

This is a fact reported by Motorsport.com and relayed by motorcyclesports, KTM will not take its test team to MotoGP testing at Portimao, planned the March 11 and 12. As these are the last tests and they take place on the circuit which hosts the first Grand Prix of the season, they are naturally of great importance. And yet…

At KTM, we manage our tire stock

According to the source, this decision is motivated by the fact that the regulations limit the testing teams to be used up to 200 tires per year for all drivers. And a good portion of these tires would have already been used.

However, let us rest assured, KTM will not suffer from technical unemployment… The brand will indeed accomplish a private test in Valencia before the official tests in Portimao and another after in Jerez. An activity such as presence on the Portuguese circuit would bring the Austrians a little too close to the limit of the aforementioned tire allocation.

This strategy will obviously not affect the regular riders nestled within the official Red Bull KTM and Tech3 GASGAS structure, who will normally ride during testing at Portimao. It will be recalled that Dani Pedrosa will make a wild card in Jerez and it is said that in Mattighofen we would also like to field the Spanish legend in Misano later in the season...