This is news that had already widely circulated in the MotoGP paddock but which was today officially confirmed during a press conference given by Hubert Trunkenpolz, Pit Beirer and Hervé Poncharal on the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria.
The French Tech3 team fromHervé Poncharal currently entitled Tech3 KTM Factory Racing will next season promote the GASGAS brand belonging fully to the group of Stefan pierer, Pierer Mobility AG since 2020, as have already KTM and Husqvarna.
Hubert Trunkenpolz: « Bringing GASGAS into MotoGP is a logical next step in all its aspects. Let's talk about the business side first: we took GASGAS 100% in 2020, and since that moment I would say it has been an incredible success story. We went from 9000 motorcycles sold at that time to already more than 25 GASGAS sold this year. That speaks for itself. We have also sold more than 000 electric bicycles of the same brand and we have big plans for this brand, to extend its motorized range and in particular to extend our range from classically off-road to a range for the road.
The second aspect is our already victorious commitment in Moto3 and Moto2 with the Aspar team. We are delighted with how things are going. It was clear that in our overall strategy we already had the idea of moving Tech3 from a satellite team to a factory team and we now have the chance to do it with the GASGAS brand, and we are very proud of you present it today. »
The other notable fact is the return of Pol Espargaro in the team based in Bormes-les-Mimosas. The Catalan who had already officiated from 2014 to 2016, then on a Yamaha M1 satellite, after his title of Moto2 world champion in 2013.
After four years spent in the Austrian fold from 2017 to 2020, then two seasons with Honda, the youngest of the Espargaró brothers will therefore return to the Mattighofen troops, but in red.
For the second pilot, Pete Beirer suggested that any hope of keeping Miguel Oliveira in the family was not completely lost when we thought the Portuguese would move to RNF Aprilia next year…
“The second driver of the team cannot yet be confirmed. There is still a chance to keep Miguel in our family, so nothing is decided at the moment and let's wait a bit. For Pol, we know, and for my part I am very happy that this friend is coming back to the family. We have already had some great days together, and some moving days on the circuits. He is the boy who took a risk in coming to this project and he showed a solid commitment, so we are all very happy that he is back, and so am I: welcome on board! »
