Miguel Oliveira knows that he has a 2020 season to complete but his thoughts are already on 2021. And for good reason: at that time, he will be a rider within the KTM factory team. An outcome for those who have reached the end of the process set up by the Mattighofen manufacturer in the Grand Prix. He will also share the box with Brad Binder who followed him on the same route marked out by the Austrians. However, be careful: it will not be a question of resting on your orange laurels since a Danilo Petrucci from elsewhere will be keen to quickly make his mark. Not only at Tech3, but also within the RC16 project…
By bringing his two young hopefuls into his factory team and placing Danilo Petrucci, came from Ducati where he did six years of service, within the partner Tech3, KTM has decided to play the card of healthy emulation. A competition that Miguel Oliveira also sees it favorably: “ I am very curious. I think Danilo is a great addition for KTM “, explains the 25-year-old Portuguese.
« He is a strong rider with a lot of experience in MotoGP and will bring another perspective to the development of the bike. We have Dani Pedrosa from Honda, a very solid bike. Then we had two riders, Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith, who came from Yamaha and developed the bike in the early years. Johann Zarco also came from Yamaha “, he explains. “ Having this valuable contribution to our project will bring the level of our motorcycle closer to that of the best machines »
Petrucci put at Tech3 to push the two young people from the factory?
Regarding the allocation of technical developments, the sports director Pete Beirer said : " we want to work with all four drivers at the same level in 2021. Regarding the distribution of updates, there is no longer a distinction between teams A and B, but the championship place will be decisive in determining which driver is preferred for new hardware ».
The fact that Petrucci either in absolute terms, on paper, can the most experienced man put pressure on the young factory drivers Brad Binder et Olive tree ? " First of all, KTM's philosophy is to invest in the future. Young drivers are therefore the logical choice. Brad and I have also contributed a lot to KTM's success, I think it just shows that they appreciate what the riders do on their bikes. I don't see many manufacturers doing it this way ", said Olive tree.
« I don't think Danilo will add pressure. It will simply help us develop the bike and reach a better level because it provides other information ", told Nora Lantschner on Speedweek. com the pilot Tech3-KTM, to refer at Petrucci.
