Pit Beirer and KTM have not yet fallen from a height, but there is a sense of unease. After a 2020 season marked by three victories and a driver ranked fifth in the championship, the Austrian brand began to entertain the idea that it could be one of the candidates for the world title in 2021. But that was before taking up residence in Losail. Whether for the off-season or for the Qatar Grand Prix, nothing seems to be working on the RC16 stuck at the back of the peloton. KTM saw itself at the top and found itself at the same point as in 2017 on this track…
Miguel Oliveira saw clearly when admitting that KTM found himself facing a impassable wall for his RC16. The Portuguese is nevertheless the beacon of hope for the Austrians with an encouraging performance during a FP4 which generally reveals possible racing performances. The Mattighofen brand therefore focuses everything on this element, but it does not deny its problems. Pete Beirer, the sports director thus steps up to the plate: “ these qualifying results cannot be ignored » he said on speedweek looking at the timesheet which designates positions 15, 19, 20 and 21 of its drivers.
He says : " the tests from two weeks ago already showed that it would be a difficult weekend for us. We are now working hard. With small changes we have closed the gaps a bit, and our race pace now looks good, at least for Miguel Oliveira. Our positive point was undoubtedly our running speed in FP4. Miguel presented himself very well with 4th place. But this one fast lap is obviously difficult for us ».
« We have to work on it because of course you need a good starting position if you want to be at the front in the race ». Most Beirer recognize : " optimal use of new tires and saving a second is not something our bike is capable of at the moment. Our bike looks clean and calm outside on the track, it rides like it's on rails at times. But lap time is missing. We are not where we imagined ».
Once the observation has been made, it is now necessary to develop corrective actions: “ we have to stay calm and have another good race " begin Beirer. " After the tests it was clear to us that we would not do very well here at the start of the season. But we saw very clearly with Miguel on Saturday that we were able to put together a competitive race set-up with him. We focused on this ».
Pit Beirer discusses race postponed to Monday
« It's a little lacking in all areas. It's amazing how much the world championship MotoGP is dynamic. The best lap of the circuit has just been shattered by seven tenths. It's incredible to see, especially in a phase where the development of the motorcycle is technically frozen » says Beirer. " Every manufacturer has taken steps forward, and at least once we haven't been able to make the move for Qatar. But we haven't had a race yet and we will definitely improve on Sunday. We need to make sure we can handle Sunday properly and deliver a decent race. It's still possible ».
About the race, Pete Beirer warns about a Sunday when the vent in Doha is expected to blow at 45 to 65 km/h: “ we have to see if there will be a race in such circumstances ". And he specifies on a postponement to Monday: “ of course we would like to race on Sunday. But if it's as bad as the last day of testing, it's simply impossible. Until now we assumed that the Grand Prix would take place on Sunday and that we would improve in racing ».
MotoGP Qatar 1 J2: times
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
