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KTM is in a critical financial situation and a restructuring plan is underway to save it from bankruptcy. Under these conditions, many are wondering if the MotoGP program is at risk for next year. There are many rumors and, in these cases, scaremongering is always around the corner. So we made a phone call to France to find out how things really are. "Ciao," answers in Italian with a cheerful tone Hervé Poncharal, team principal and founder of Tech3, which from next year will return to the orange of KTM after the red of GasGas and, more than a private team, will be the second official team of the Austrian manufacturer.
"For 2025 everything is confirmed - he anticipates our question - In Barcelona, during the last GP, I had a meeting with Hubert Trunkenpolz, Pit Beirer and Carmelo Ezpeleta: there is a plan and it will be respected. From the information I have received, the Racing Department will not be touched by the Pierer Group's financial difficulties."
Poncharal went into even more detail, "just a week ago, Alberto Giribuola and Manu Cazeaux, the crew chiefs of Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales, were in Austria, at Munderfing, at the Racing Department and everything is proceeding as usual. The usual winter preparation work is being done and bike assembly days have been confirmed for the end of the month. In short, they are working as usual."
The French manager logically received reassurances from Pit Beirer, KTM's motorsport director.
"He told me that everything is okay for 2025, " he says, "Everything is proceeding as usual here at Tech3 as well, we are working on graphics for the new pits and we have already shipped some crates for testing in Malaysia. As for Moto3 there are no problems either, we have received the 2025 frames from KTM."
Poncharal preferred not to comment on KTM's moment of crisis.
"I don't comment because I don't know the details," he explained, "However, I can say that from my point of view everything is proceeding normally and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues like this. I have great confidence in Beirer; his main commitment is racing. Certainly KTM is struggling, but it is not stopping, but it will be reorganized. As for us, the Racing Department is operational, we have a major sponsor behind us and 4 riders in MotoGP. KTM is a very important player in MotoGP and we can count on the full support of Red Bull. At the moment we are all working to have a nice 2025 and the 4 orange riders (in addition to the already mentioned Bastianini and Vinales, Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder, ed.) will be there in the factory team."
Hervé is looking forward to the start, also because it gave him great pleasure to see a satellite team, Pramac, win the World Riders' Championship with Martin. "I am very happy, hats off to Campionoti, to Borsoi and also to Ducati for the way it played the game."
Next year, Tech3 will focus on Bastianini and Vinales: "I am very happy with their first test. Enea came from Ducati, there were a lot of expectations, and his sensations on the KTM were positive, like Maverick's," he concluded with thoughts already on Sepang.
