Attention sensitive subject! There are areas at KTM that do not suffer from any debate. Espargaro Pol is currently experiencing this, he who ventured to criticize the Mattighofen chassis with the idea that aluminum is perhaps better than assembled steel tubes. A crime of lèse-majesté if we judge by the reaction of the manufacturer and the rise to the front of a Pete Beirer, sports boss and who reframes his pilot on speedweek...
Pol Espargaro suffered in Austin and Mugello from the behavior of an RC16 whose fault was the chassis. However, KTM is the only manufacturer with a frame made of assembled steel tubes while the competition has opted for aluminum. An approach that was not to the taste of Pete Beirer which puts things straight: “ imagining that we could one day have a chassis other than steel is out of the question. Our boss Stefan Pierer agrees. And it's not just a matter of opinion. Here we touch on the philosophy of our company. We have knowledge of this type of material. Everyone at KTM agrees. Going with aluminum would mean starting everything from scratch ».
« We don't copy anyone. We follow our own path. It's not the easiest thing, but we are convinced that it will be an advantage when we are fast because we will perfectly understand our material. Ducati was titled in 2007 with Stoner and a steel frame. Then they made a carbon monocoque in 2011 before switching to aluminum for Rossi which was considered sacrilege by the Ducatists ».
He finishes, still thinking of Pol Espargaro... " We need a little more time. We announced that it would take us three years. We will meet this deadline because by this time we will have a better bike and also a new rider in 2019 who can make the KTM faster. We are therefore convinced that we are not that far from the best ».
Furthermore, KTM will be able to count on the team Tech3 as support, and the French team will also ride with KTMs in Moto2.
