The Austrian manufacturer's first full season in MotoGP proved to be excellent, with Pol Espargaro's seventh qualifying place at the German Grand Prix as well as sixth at the Australian Grand Prix. Pol finished ninth in the race at Brno and Phillip Island, which was all the more commendable as Moto2 and Moto3 also mobilized KTM's strengths.
During the recent Jerez tests, Pol Espargaro achieved a good fifth time just 0.567 behind the leader Andrea Dovizioso, which made people say “ we are very proud to be part of the best competition in the world » to Pit Beirer, Director of KTM Motorsport. « The season was excellent, but difficult. We had a lot of respect for this step. »
According to Mike Leitner, Team Manager of the Red Bull KTM team, “ We have already made a lot of changes over the last season. We want to keep our pace. In this house, we have a certain ambition for all projects. »
“It may sound funny, but we are the only manufacturer that comes from the German-speaking world. There, people have a certain mentality and also a work ethic. Of course, others do it too, but the Japanese and Italians do things differently. »
“It seems that KTM as a whole – of course including off-road – has an incredibly successful corporate history. The Moto2 project was also impressive this year. The technical stages and also the progress of the drivers at the end. »
How important are quick decisions and shortcuts?
« This is a decisive factor, the management structure is very light, which brings us a lot... We have very short distances between the CEO of the company, Stefan Pierer, and Pit Beirer, which then extends to me or the manager Moto2. A decisive advantage for the speed of development », Estimated Leitner.
Photo credit: Australian GP 2017, Gold and Goose for KTM
Source: Speedweek. com
