Since his debut in Valencia in MotoGP in 2016 with Mika Kallio, then wildcard, KTM scored its first points thanks to Pol Espargaró who finished fourteenth at Las Termas in 2017. The Spaniard obtained the best result for the Austrian firm in this category with third place in Valencia in 2018, during what was only the second full season for the company originally named "Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen".
Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridges, and a lot of Red Bull in the glasses, this partner – also Austrian – unfailingly supporting the troops of the dynamic boss Stefan Pierer. KTM has won 76 victories in 125 / Moto3 Grands Prix and 23 in 250 / Moto2, for a total of 99. We will soon celebrate the hundred!
In MotoGP, KTM riders have finished in the top 21 10 times, led by Pol Espargaro (12) followed by Bradley Smith (5), Mika Kallio (2), Johann zarco (1) and Miguel Oliveira (1).
The official racing service which bears the name “KTM Factory Racing” has signed a five-year contract (until the end of 2026) with Dorna to continue to compete in the MotoGP World Championship. The current agreement between the two partners covers the 2017 to 2021 seasons. 2020 is the fourth season of KTM's presence. “ In the fourth and fifth year we want to fight for victories and for the title of World Champion », Explained Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM, almost a year ago. In the meantime, the goals have become more modest: “We want to fight for the top five places » Pierer said.
Separately, in January 2018, KTM and Tech3 signed a three-year cooperation agreement, with Red Bull also on board for three years with the satellite team ofHervé Poncharal. KTM spends around 30 million euros per year on MotoGP, with Red Bull contributing around 10 million euros.
Suzuki has never had a customer team since the start of the MotoGP era in 2002. Stefan Pierer has always held up Suzuki as a role model, because after their return in 2015 the Japanese won the Silverstone GP with Maverick Vinales on the GSX-RR from 2016. In 2019, Alex Rins won at Texas and Silverstone. “Suzuki is doing a great job. I'm really impressed », recognizes Pierer. “They were already very strong in 2018.”
As early as February 2019, Stefan Pierer assured that KTM would extend Dorna's MotoGP contract after the 2021 season. This will certainly continue,” he then declared. “One of the reasons is that Carmelo Ezpeleta and Dorna are doing a great job. Being part of such a circus is extremely useful, and good for our marketing and sales. »
“We will definitely meet in 2020 to see how things are going, what the rule changes are. But we count on stable regulations. This is why it is positive to extend for another five years. We already promised Carmelo that. These are the years 2022 to 2026 inclusive. »
KTM does not want to just equip its second satellite team with inferior equipment, but focus on four riders in MotoGP. According to Pierer, “In principle, we want to have four drivers at the same technical level. Unfortunately, this has not yet been possible in the first year, although we tried to support Miguel Oliveira as much as possible and have three real factory drivers. But in the future, all four KTM riders will have identical equipment. This will already be the case in a few days at Sepang. »
Hubert Trunkenpolz, Stefan Pierer and Hervé Poncharal (Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia)
Photos © Philip Platzer and Sebas Romero for KTM
Source: Speedweek. com
