On Track Off Road No.184

FEATURE
fierce desire for excellence.
He doesn’t mince his words
when it comes to competition.
“I have never entered a
race and not tried to win,” he
signed-off. Rookie teammate
Jorge Martin is still recovering
from a broken left arm
and right foot but is on the
KTM fast track having won the
Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2014,
Moto3 and now embarking
on the next rung. He’s chased
by fifteen year old Öncü, who
continues to tackle the attention
and interest in his efforts
with the same kid-like aspect.
The Turk is the third Rookies
champion in the nine-rider
crew (Zarco is the very first,
#1 in 2007) and wasn’t afraid
to talk up his chances. There
as the expected acknowledgement
that 2019 would be ninth
month process of learning but
he also grinned: “if I’m clever
and fast it is also possible to
win the title!”
Ever-present on stage was
Beirer. It was somehow fitting
that a video of his battling,
aggressive and entirely encapsulating
performance to win at
the 1997 Motocross Des Nations
circulated on social media
that morning. The German
does not lack intensity, and
has moulded the vast racing
division into a unit that gathers
trophies on Dakar trails,
motocross tracks, supercross
stadium layouts, beach races
and enduro trails for fun.
The MotoGP affair was reminiscent
of the 2010 pre-season
presentation in MXGP. On that
February day in Italy Beirer
not only introduced Tony
Cairoli and the De Carli setup
in KTM colours for the first
time but also the innovative
350 SX-F: both would change
the face of the premier class
of the FIM Motocross World
Championship. Fittingly athletes
like Marvin Musquin and
Jeffrey Herlings were also
on the platform. “It’s a very
special moment for me and
another milestone seeing this
structure,” he commented.
“We have been building since
2012 and it is all in place
now.”
Beirer also paid credit to the
Moto3 foundation of KTM’s
MotoGP presence. “Without a
Moto3 project we would not
have a MotoGP bike today and
you have to work so closely
and carefully to make gains
there,” he said. “It is our base,
and it leads us directly onto
why we are in Moto2 because
it is the next step.”
Before Stefan Pierer’s revealing
final statement the CEO
had time to express his feelings
and goals to the company’s
biggest single venture.
“We see on the TV or the
internet how many tenths of a
second are missing and that
really drives you to do everything
you can to touch the top
of the podium.
That’s our philosophy and
that has driven us to success
over the last thirty years but
in this racing world we are
still beginners: this is our third
year. By the end [of five years]
we want to see the podium
and for the upcoming racing
season I’d like to see single
digit results; that’s realistic
because we are still collecting
data and we miss all the
experience of our competitors.
For 2019 – in gambler’s speak
– it’s ‘all in’.”
In the same exposition Pierer
also reiterated the support
for the “front-end staff” of the
KTM family and the need for
patience but there was a
feeling that the company
is hovering
a left foot near
sixth gear
for their
MotoGP
goals. 2019 really
will be a crucial year for the
grid’s newest but arguably
most fascinating players.