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In the last six months, Pierer Mobility AG has had to face devastating financial challenges at regular intervals because of a debt that has grown to between 1.8 and 2.2 billion Euros. Those responsible for the successful KTM Factory Racing racing department in Munderfing, which secured 13 more world championship titles for KTM in 2024 alone, have also repeatedly raised the issue of whether motorsport activities would still have a right to exist in the future given the precarious financial situation.
But Motorsport Director Pit Beirer - 250cc motocross vice world champion in 1999 and who is in a wheelchair since an unfortunate fall on a factory KTM in the 2003 Bulgarian GP - presented a decimated concept and racing budget to the Pierer board and, subsequently, to the restructuring administrator, Peter Vogl. Everything currently indicates that Peter Vogl and the creditors will agree to the continuation of motorsports operations because international competition and racing have been part of KTM's DNA for more than 50 years and have contributed a great deal to the brand's reputation and competitiveness. Its successes in sports have made the vision of majority owner and co-CEO Stefan Pierer become Europe's largest motorcycle manufacturer, with 381,555 motorcycles sold in 2023.
For 2025, KTM has severely restricted the motorsport activities of the Husqvarna and GASGAS brands acquired in 2012 and 2022, in order to be able to concentrate on the core KTM brand.
In the MotoGP World Championship this year, Red Bull KTM Factory (Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta) and Red Bull KTM Tech3 (Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales) will be competing with the KTM colors, after Tech3 promoted the GASGAS brand over the past two years: a project that cost approximately 10 million Euros. Husky and GASGAS were also withdrawn from the Moto3 and Moto2 classes. The two secondary brands were already missing from the 2025 Dakar Rally, which KTM won with Daniel Sanders.
KTM has four undisputed top riders and former world champions under contract: Enea Bastianini, Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales, who finished 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in the MotoGP World Championship in 2024. This quartet has also won five world championship titles and 71 GP victories among them. Besides KTM, only Ducati can boast such a grandiose MotoGP formation with role players such as Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Alex Márquez, Fermin Aldeguer, Franco Morbidelli. and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
But only the two new KTM arrivals, Bastianini and Viñales, won in the premier class in 2024: The Beast on the Ducati in Silverstone and Misano-2, Viñales on the Aprilia in Texas.
Pit, whoìll actually be riding for Red Bull KTM in the three-day shakedown test in Sepang, which starts tomorrow?
"Pol Espargaró and Dani Pedrosa. And, of course, we're excited and we can't wait for the four factory riders to get on their bikes from February 5th to 7th."
Will the new KTM RC16 be the one from the Barcelona test in November or were additional updates implemented?
"The main technical development corresponds to the specification from the Barcelona test. Each rider will have a bike in the Barcelona version and a second bike that has been further developed. The objective in Sepang will be to compare these versions. We'll also use the Buriram test before we decide which specifications we'll start the season with. These tests are our final move. We'll of course give different test tasks to all four riders in Sepang. We have a tight test plan because we offer each rider several options. In the end, each rider has to put together his own favorite packaged. We have a few interesting new parts that we have to distribute, in order to make the most of the three days.
Afterwards, we have to draw a conclusion and think about what improvements we can make before the first Grand Prix. In any case, every KTM rider should have the version they want in the pits for the first Grand Prix."
With Viñales and Bastianini, you have two newcomers in KTM, as well as Binder and Acosta, who already know the RC16. KTM has never had such important riders in the premier class since 2017.
"Yes, because we've always used one or two rookies who came from the Moto2 in reccent years. The mix between very young rookies and the experienced aces was a balancing act. Now we have four top riders for the first time. We already noticed during the Barcelona test in November that you get a lot of interesting information when you bring to KTM the rider who came in fourth place in the World Championship. You get different information than you do from a rookie who's experiencing his first day of work in the MotoGP. We're now getting a completely different quality of input. The Barcelona test was incredible for us when we think about the ideas, input, and indications we gathered there. We now have the highest quality riders we've ever had. That's going to have a positive effect. We have the very young rough diamond, Pedro Acosta, but we also have older guys with a lot of experience. Enea and Maverick come from other brands, while Brad Binder has always raced with KTM. Maverick Viñales has the most experience in the MotoGP. He achieved his first MotoGP victory in 2016 and has since won with three different manufacturers.
Enea was already third in the World Championship and comes from a currently very strong manufacturer. We also have Brad, who knows KTM very well, and a young wild guy, like Pedro. It's a great mix!"
What are KTM's goals for the season?
"We're fighting to have a rider in the top three at the end of the year. That has to be our next big goal. We've had this goal in the past, but we've never achieved it. We do have dreams, but I think a place in the top three is a realistic goal. And we want to fight for victories. All the riders agree on that. We don't just want to partecipate."
For months, the media has been speculating that Pedro Acosta will switch to Ducati because of the financial problems. He was with you in Austria in December with his manager. Are you worried?
"That's what sets Pedro apart. He doesn't sit at home and speculate, he comes to our factory. He looked at everything and wanted to know first-hand what it looked like. I couldn't give him all the answers about the next ten years. But that's not what interested him. His most important question was whether we could give him a winning bike for the new season. He asked whether all the technicians were fully committed, whether the KTM would be developed in the way we discussed in Barcelona. He didn't want to tell us if he had offers from other manufacturers. He and his manager didn't mention this at all. We have a contract with Pedro for 2025 and 2026. We're going to respect it and Pedro will respect it."
I was recently told that even the development of the new 850 cc KTM engine for the new 2027 regulations is continuing.
"Development for 2027 is, of course, going full steam ahead. The bike is currently being designed with the engineers we have. Preparations for 2027 are in full swing. We now also entered the negotiation phase with Dorna for the MotoGP years after 2026."
How much of a burden are the KTM AG insolvency proceedings for you, personally?
"I trust that our board and our management will perfectly manage the insolvency proceedings and the restructuring process. KTM Racing AG is only indirectly affected, so I don't have much to say on this topic. Our focus is on racing, and the recent events and meetings have strengthened our hope that the motorsports activities can continue even after the insolvency proceedings have ended, even if on a reduced scale."
MotoGP 2025 test dates
January 31st-February 2nd: Sepang, Malaysia - Shakedown test
February 5th-7th: Sepang, Malaysia
February 12th-13th: Buriram, Thailand
April 28th: Jerez, Spain
June 9th: Aragon, Spain
September 5th: Misano, Italy
Moto2 & Moto3 2025 test dates
February 10th-11th: Portimão, Portugal - Moto3
February 12th-13th: Portimão,Portugal - Moto2
February18th-20th: Jerez, Spain - Moto2 and Moto3
May 12th: Le Mans, France - Moto3
May 13th: Le Mans, France - Moto2
July 21st: Brno, Czech Republic - Moto2
July 22nd: Brno, Czech Republic - Moto3
