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MotoGP, KTM: the 2025 RC16s will be assembled next week and ready for Sepang

The engineers will meet in the Racing Department as planned. The 850 cc MotoGP project for 2027 has not yet been shelved, but the new majority shareholder will decide.

MotoGP: KTM: the 2025 RC16s will be assembled next week and ready for Sepang

Although the board members of the financial holding company Pierer Mobility AG and the operating company KTM AG have been hit with a lot of devastating news in recent months, since December 20 there have been increasing signs of a successful restructuring of the ailing company and a viable new concept thanks to the insolvency proceedings under the company's own responsibility, which last 90 days and are intended to raise fresh capital for the insolvent KTM AG from existing investors such as Bajaj and CFMOTO, as well as to bring new investors on board with the support of the US investment bank Citigroup.

As far as the continuation of the Pierer Group's motorsport activities with the brands KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS is concerned, the red pen was already applied last July. Only the core brand KTM will participate in all major series from MotoGP to Moto2 and Moto3 to the MX World Championship, US Supercross Series and the Dakar Rally (Australian Daniel Sanders is in the lead). 

The catchy slogan "Ready To Race" has helped KTM to become a renowned global player that has chosen the giant Honda as its favorite rival in many championships from Moto3 to Dakar and has won a further 347 world championship titles since winning the first world title with Gennadi Moissejev in the 250 cc Motocross World Championship in 1974.

The Husqvarna brand has been pulled out of the Moto3 and Moto2 World Championship (like GASGAS) and will only compete in the most important motocross championships, including in the USA, while the originally Spanish brand GASGAS will be geared primarily towards junior championships and young riders. But in cooperation with energy drink company Rockstar GASGAS will also compete in AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross series. 

With the reorganization of motorsport activities, some teams and riders have fallen by the wayside. Of the once approximately 70 factory riders and 500 team members of the three brands, twelve factory riders were laid off, which meant that around 50 team members were no longer needed. Most of the remaining teams' budgets were severely cut. But the motocross commitment remains extensive, although KTM is now clearly in the foreground again in this segment.
In addition, savings are being made on wind tunnel tests and travel costs, the advertising budget has been decimated, on-track support is being restricted, and savings are being made on personnel costs. Red Bull KTM MotoGP team manager Francesco Guidotti also felt this, as he had to make way for Aki Ajo despite a contract valid for 2025. The contract with Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini (now at Aprilia Racing) was not renewed in July.

But despite all the adversities and austerity measures, those responsible at KTM are doing everything they can to be able to carry out the decimated motorsport program as planned in 2025 despite the insolvency proceedings. The flights, hotels and rental cars for the first two MotoGP tests in 2025 were already booked in November, and next week the four crew chiefs and the technical crews of the four MotoGP riders Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta, Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini will meet in the racing department at KTM Factory Racing in Munderfing to assemble the 2025 RC16 factory machines as usual and then airfreight them to Sepang/Malaysia.

KTM wants to do everything in its power in the MotoGP World Championship to win a Grand Prix with the best rider line-up ever since Brad Binder triumphed in Spielberg in 2021. KTM will be trying hard to stop Ducati's winning streak after their two second places in the Constructors' World Championship in 2023 and 2024.

But the KTM managers have to make other painful decisions at regular intervals. Yesterday, restructuring proceedings without self-administration had to be opened in the regional courts of Linz and Ried over the assets of the Pierer Mobility subsidiaries Avocodo GmbH and Pierer E-Commerce GmbH. Around 150 employees and more than 120 creditors are affected by these proceedings.

Avocodo, founded in 2000, received more than 80 percent of its income from services such as the operation and maintenance of dealer systems, websites and customer portals. 125 employees and more than 75 creditors are affected. Liabilities are estimated at 3.3 million euros. Pierer E-Commerce, founded in 2001, is responsible for online sales and digital marketing of the Pierer Group's products and services; it generated 96 percent of its income through KTM AG. The insolvency affects 25 employees and around 45 creditors. Liabilities of around 4 million euros are known.  After restructuring, both companies are planned to continue to operate, and external investors are already showing interest in investing. The creditors of the two insolvent companies are offered a quota of 20 percent, payable within 24 months of the acceptance of the restructuring plan.

Some imaginative storytellers never tire of assigning the exceptional Spanish talent Pedro Acosta, long celebrated as the new Marc Márquez, to Ducati by publishing constant fake news, although the places in all three Ducati MotoGP teams have long been filled and Valentino Rossi's private team cannot simply push rookie Fermin Aldeguer onto the sidelines, especially since he has a contract with Ducati Corse in his pocket.

Pedro Acosta and his manager Albert Valera did visit KTM in Upper Austria in mid-December to find out first-hand whether the RC16 is really being further developed and whether the MotoGP World Championship can really be tackled with the necessary resources. A second visit did not take place because KTM board members Stefan Pierer and Gottfried Neumeister repeatedly emphasize to creditors that motorsport is part of KTM's DNA and that the company can only continue if the motorsport commitment is accepted and made possible as part of the restructuring plan, at least in a slimmed-down form. So far, the KTM board has received positive signals, but a final decision will not be made until February 25.

The restructuring team is faced with a tight time frame, because at the general examination meeting on January 24, creditors, restructuring administrator Peter Vogl and the responsible judge must be convinced of the usefulness of the restructuring plan. "A very important date," one restructuring expert is convinced.

After all, Boston Consulting has calculated that canceling the motorsport program would bring savings of 46 million euros. At KTM, the argument is credible: these costs are more than offset by increased sales - this was already the case in the past, before the blind activities in too many series with the three brands got out of hand.

Now in Upper Austria, fingers are crossed for Daniel Sanders to win the Dakar Rally. In 2019, Toby Price secured the 18th KTM victory in a row at the marathon rally, in 2022 the Pierer Group triumphed with Sam Sunderland on a GASGAS, and in 2023 with Kevin Benavides on a KTM.

"The Dakar Rally is very important to KTM because it is the first competition of the calendar year," Pierer stated several times. "If things go well for us there, it has the effect of a turbocharger for everyone at our company. Sales Director Hubert Trunkenpolz then pushed sales with even more enthusiasm, and motivation in the racing department is also increasing even further. Motorsport Director Pit Beirer knows how valuable the Dakar successes are for our company. Our team has been doing first-class work at the Dakar for many years."

Another important remark: The speculations of some colleagues that KTM will withdraw from the MotoGP World Championship after 2026 have so far been unfounded. According to research by gpone.com, the development of the 850 cc MotoGP project for 2027 has not been shelved. But that does not necessarily mean that KTM will continue to compete in the "premier class" after 2026. Because the presumed new majority owner will have a major say in this decision. And Stefan Pierer and his co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister will first carefully study the business figures and market shares for 2025 before they plunge into a new five-year MotoGP adventure from 2027 to 2031 with the new major shareholder or investor.

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