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Four full factory bikes to launch the assault on the 2025 World Championship and defy the crisis. KTM unveiled today the liveries for the upcoming season, which will start between late February and early March in Buriram, preceded by testing in Malaysia and Thailand.
While in the factory team there is the promotion of Pedro Acosta, who will flank Brad Binder, in the Tech3 team we can find a double rider change: on the one hand Maverick Vinales, on the other Enea Bastianini.
Coming from the Romagna rider, there is a lot of expectation and curiosity to see how things will pan out:“I’m very curious for this season.We have to stay calm at the start because it’s important to understand the bike and the team. But I’m motivated and I think that about the third or fourth race we can be competitive. When I tried the bike I understood all the potential and it’s impressive how you can go on the edge of the corner and how the gearbox is faster, it’s so fast.”
Echoing his words is his new teammate, Maverick Viñales:“To wear the Red Bull KTM colors feels very good. Since I’ve been a kid I’ve seen them on motocross, on racing…so, it’s a dream team for me. My first thought of the KTM RC16 was: “wow, this is a beast, it’s fast!”. I remember in Montmelo it was very fast, and this is important in the new MotoGP era, as most of the race are the first five-six laps. The first year when you go to a new bike, you need to be always concentrated, always open to new experiences. Every time you go to a new track it’s a completely different experience from the previous years so you have to have an open mentality and be very focused, so my objective is to be focused and to be able to perform at my maximum. The good thing is that as soon as I jump on the KTM it feels like home. It’s a bike that I like, that suits my riding style, entering the corner. So, this is a very important thing.”
Turning instead to the factory team, Binder has been reconfirmed, “It is crazy to think that this is my sixth season in MotoGP already. To be honest 2024 was the year where I probably learnt the most. Coming into 2025 I feel that it has made me a much better rider. My goal for the season is to take what I learnt and make that step forward to fight with the guys at the front. We are not far. We finished 2nd in the Constructors championship so we have one left in front of us. When I see how hard people are working at the factory and how much energy there is behind the scenes it is clear we are going to get there.”
Alongside however, he will find a new partner, namely Pedro Acosta: “For sure, 2024 was a good year, and we still have some goals that we keep in the pocket. I learned how to control a race, and how to adapt to MotoGP. It was a dream come true coming to the factory team after being in Moto3 and Moto2. Also having Brad as a teammate and helping develop the bike will be a very good point. It will help that he has a lot of experience in the class and I think we will make a good match together. The two main important points for 2025 will be the qualifying and then the first few laps of the race. Last year we saw that we had pace to fight for podiums or wins but we were struggling during qualifying. So, these two points will be the most important things to improve during this season.”
There is also no shortage of anticipation from Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports director: “There have been many questions but we have been clear since the last day of the 2024 season: we are here to race and we are very serious about success in this fantastic championship that spreads motorcycling and motorcycle racing to many corners of the world. 2025 has started strongly for us with the important Dakar victory and also winning in AMA Supercross, now it is a real pleasure to present our MotoGP teams and see our bike ready to race for the ninth year in a row. Competition is such a big part of KTM’s DNA and we are committed. For the coming season and with Brad, Pedro, Enea and Maverick as well as all the experience and knowledge in the pitboxes there is a lot of positivity and adrenaline to get started. This season could be massive for us, and I hope it will be.”
The final comment was from team manager Nico Goyon: “The wait is finally over, and we are all really excited to launch our 2025 MotoGP season. We are back to Red Bull KTM colours, with two amazing talents, who we are all really thrilled to welcome amongst our ranks. Maverick and Enea are both extremely experienced riders, cumulating between the two of them 17 wins and over 50 podiums in MotoGP, and they will form the strongest line up Tech3 has ever had. We believe they will both be a great fit in our project, and strong assets for the brand. We are thankful to Red Bull KTM for trusting us with two brilliant riders, and we will do everything we can to take the MotoGP project to the next level.”
