On Track Off Road No.184

WHAT WAS SAID AND WHAT WENT DOWN IN
AUSTRIA AS KTM UNVEILED THEIR LARGEST
AND MOST AMBITIOUS PROBE INTO MotoGP
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by KTM/Sebas Romero
“To give a rough idea
of what we are
talking about: on
the front-end we have the
riders…but behind we have
180 people. I would say
half of them in the forefront,
half in the background
– engineers
and technicians. Total
budget? We’re talking
about 40 million
euros. It is not an issue
of money finally.
It is [about] the best
people…and that’s
the KTM family.”
KTM Group CEO
Stefan Pierer can
normally be relied on
to throw some candid
and unexpected information
to media and guests.
Projects that might have been
brewing in secret for years in
the vaults, clay model pits and
test benches in Mattighofen
can sometimes be talked
about with lucid enthusiasm
by the Austrian who has reignited
three prominent brands
in the industry and has hiked
up his vision towards the
world’s premier motorcycle
racing series.
Pierer uttered those words
towards the end of the 2019
MotoGP presentation in the
new City Hall in Mattighofen.
A snowball-throw away from
KTM’s almost-finished ‘Motohall’
that was due to host
the event and is apparently
set to open in April [have a
read about the manufacturer’s
new project in this story on
the KTM Blog]. At one point
he was joined not only by
the nine riders in all three
classes (five world championships,
over sixty wins and one
hundred and fifty podiums
between them) but also an
envious collective of experienced
management: Pit Beirer
(responsible for the frantic recruitment
drive that includes
the whole Tech3 MotoGP and
Moto3 structure), Mike Leitner,
Aki Ajo and Herve Poncharal.
That KTM are investing so
heavily and banking so hard
on what Pierer says is a “five
year programme” was clear to
see. 2017 was a debut, 2018
was a tricky injury-hit second
term but also had bright moments
and that landmark podium
in the damp at Valencia.