At KTM, we are already proclaiming loud and clear that we will continue the Grand Prix adventure well beyond the current lease with the promoter Dorna. Better still, the Austrians will make a point of maintaining the same intensity in a commitment which is unique for the moment. The Mattighofen firm is in fact the only one of the six present in MotoGP to play in all three categories, from Moto3 to the elite via Moto2. And even more with the Red Bull Rookies Cup, where it all begins…
Many things can be said about KTM but we cannot take away from this brand the fact that it is the only one in the world to be represented in all three Grand Prix categories. Nothing will change in this process. In Texas, three KTM riders finished on the Moto3 class podium.
No other manufacturer is in fact represented in the three motorcycle Grand Prix categories. Honda does not build a Moto2 racing chassis. Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki or Aprilia are only in MotoGP. KTM, a European manufacturer with 261 motorcycles sold in 555, is entered in the smallest Grand Prix category and builds its 2018 cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke Moto3 machines.
« Yes, we will stay in the Motorcycle World Championship for the long term3,” said the CEO, Stefan pierer, in an interview with Speedweek. “ We decided that the final winner of the Red Bull Rookies Cup would automatically join us for the world championship. We were particularly lucky with Can Öncü, who took victory on his debut as a wildcard driver at Valencia in November. Team owner Aki Ajo will take the winner under his wing. He does this in addition to Moto2. In addition to MotoGP, we will maintain the Moto3 and Moto2 platforms. In Moto2, in the Red Bull teams made up of Aki Ajo and Hervé Poncharal, we will always have four potentially new riders joining our MotoGP teams. It is also a cost reduction program ».
What the KTM boss means is that he will not put himself in a position to pay a rider 25 million euros for two years, as Ducati did in 2017 and 2018 with Jorge Lorenzo. In Texas, KTM was happy to see Arón Canet, Jaume Masia et Andrea Migno, three drivers of his machines reached the podium.
But there was also a disaster in Moto2 in Austin: No KTM in the points, which has never happened since the Austrians entered the intermediate category in 2017…
