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Hervé Poncharal, owner of the Red Bull KTM Tech3 Factory Team, hopes to win races in the premier class in his seventh year with the Austrian manufacturer, for the first time since 2020 (two victories with Miguel Oliveira in Spielberg and Portimão). With the two former World Vhampions, Maverick Viñales (Moto3 in 2014 with the Calvo KTM team) and Enea "Bestia" Bastianini (Moto2 in 2020 with Italtrans on Kalex), the 67-year-old Frenchman had the most promising MotoGP rider duo since he entered the premier class in 2001. But Bastianini and Viñales are KTM newcomers (unlike Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta from the Red Bull KTM Factory team), so Poncharal is trying to keep a low profile before the start of the season on March 3rd and 4th in Buriram.
"Pedro Acosta is the strongest KTM rider in his second MotoGP season," Poncharal said, aware of this (see here HERE the first part of the interview). "He achieved nine podium finishes last year and, during the two tests in February, he also demonstrated that he's their strong point. For the time being, Brad Binder is the more suitable reference point for our two riders. And we've already moved closer to him. Maverick has already done very well in Thailand. We were quite happy with this performance. He was 0.2 seconds faster than Enea."
"Maverick is enthusiastic about the KTM, but he also says that he needs more laps with this motorcycle," the experienced Tech3 team owner said. "He's happy to be a KTM rider and feels very good with the team and the bike. And, for the very first time, we have a rider in the team who hasn't had a single fall in the three winter tests in Catalunya, Sepang, and Buriram. Zero!"
But Poncharal remains a realist and doesn't expect his two KTM newcomers to fight for a Top 5 position in Thailand, given normal conditions. "I think we can only achieve a result like this if something extraordinary happens," he stated.
After all, the Ducati line-up has shrunk from eight to six motorcycles. "That's right," Poncharal admitted during an exclusive interview with GPOne.com. "But, until now, we thought the Italians would be racing with three 2025 factory motorcycles and three 2024 models. Now, all the riders have opted for the 2024 engines, so there's going to be six equivalent full factory bikes with the 2024 version. There have never been so many 'real' factory Ducati on the grid! And I don't see a single slow rider in this sextet. Franky Morbidelli has had really, really strong winter test sessions. Diggia fell, but he was fast. Alex Márquez is a high-level rider and on a mission. And we don't even need to talk about Marc's and Pecco's qualities. We know them well enough. They're the contenders for the tile. And Fermin Aldeguer did very well for a rookie. So, we have these six guys who are difficult to beat. Then there's Aprilia. What Bezzecchi did was very impressive. It's going to take some time for Jorge Martin to find the speed he's looking for after his injury. But I have no doubt that he'll get to the top. Honda and Yamaha have caught up. So, it won't be a given that the KTM Tech3 riders will make it into the Top 10 and go straight into the Q2 at the beginning of the season. The fight for the twelve places in the Q2 will be relentless. That's why I'd be happy if Enea and Maverick made it into the Top 10 in Buriram. But it won't be a walk in the park."
"I've realized that our two KTM riders are very clever, so I expect them to improve step by step. At the moment, they know their level, but they also know that they can improve. Everyday they'll understand better how to get one hundred percent out of the RC16 package. But they're also aware that, under normal circumstances, they won't be podium contenders in the first three or four Grand Prixs. But they radiate confidence, and maybe they'll pull off a surprise," Poncharal said. "After all, they had a total of six days on the KTM. But those were test rides. From now on, it's all about non-stop time attacks, starting on Friday. And, in terms of race pace, all the riders will be very close together. So you have to use your head and collect some points in the first races. You have to take some points with you from Thailand, Texas, and Argentina. After those races, you'll be able to get a better picture. It's good that we have a driving force at KTM in the form of Pedro Acosta. He's an incentive for all of the brand colleagues, because he demonstrates the potential of the RC16. Pedro is the benchmark for the three other KTM aces. We're aware that our bike is capable of more than we showed in the tests."
Four Ducati aces finished in the Top 5 in Sepang, and three in Buriram. KTM only managed one Top 5 result, with Acosta in Thailand.
In which areas are the Ducati still superior? Poncharal: "If Pedro only loses 0.2 seconds with best times of just under 1:30 minutes, then he loses a few thousandths of a second in some places. With such a small gap, we can't talk about a single weak point. We're very close to the Ducati, but this performance comes about in very different ways. We have a different suspension brand, we display a different chassis technology, we differentiate in terms of engine characteristics. We also have different aerodynamics, and we manage riders differently. We don't have a specific weak point. We lose little fractions of a second everywhere. Perhaps the Ducati package is a bit more mature than ours, because they joined the MotoGP in 2003, KTM only did so in 2017. They may have fewer weaknesses, but it's hard to judge that exactly. They're two different concepts. Nevertheless, we're close."
KTM reached second place in the Constructors World Championship in the last two years, but the Noale-based competitor, with Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, will be a very serious opponent again in this competition in 2025.
Poncharal has high hopes for Acosta, who secured a sixth place in the 2024 World Championship for the Tech3 team as a rookie! "Pedro will be up there," the team manager said, convincingly. "We mustn't forget that, last year, after the sprint in Jerez, Pedro as a MotoGP newcomer came in second place in the World Championship! That was only his fourth MotoGP event. He brought a lot of joy to our team in 2024. Pedro is a very special motorcycle racer."
The now 20-year-old Spanish rider already demonstrated these special skills in 2021. At the age of 17, he scored 95 out of 100 possible points in the first four Grand Prixs in the super contested Moto3 season!
"I'm now traveling to Buriram with great impatience. I'm curious to see what we'll experience there. For the first time, our MotoGP team has two real top riders, and we have a good base with the KTM RC16. Our group is strong, and we'll get even stronger," Poncharal concluded.
