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At the end of the Mugello GP, the rider market has opened, with the arrival of Marc Marquez in the official Ducati team Martin's subsequent arrival in Aprilia. But KTM was no exception, announcing in one fell swoop that two outstanding riders will be joining the team: Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales, both from the factory teams of their biggest rivals. Two winning top riders secured with a multi-year contract, who'll be taking the place of two outgoing riders: Augusto Fernandez and Jack Miller. KTM's resulting line-up that, starting next year, will field four official bikes in the redbull colors without distinction, is heralding winds of war from the Austrian manufacturer. Afterthe remarkable strides made in recent seasons, it's now aiming to undermine Ducati's dominance. Pit Beirer spoke to reporters about these issues and more.
The first topic about the future is that there won't be a first rider among the four KTM riders.
"We've talked to the four riders, about how we're going to work in the near future," KTM's Motorsport Director explained. "We're going to try to match each rider to the team around them by giving them four identical bikes at the beginning of the season. It's not in our plans to bring new components for one rider, but we might produce a new one and have no others. In that case, the best rider in the standings will be the first to be able to use it. The 'first rider' will be the best rider among the four, so there won't be a situation where one garage is the factory team and the other is a satellite team. It's going to be up to the riders to get the new materials."
KTM's ability to support this model was already demonstrated this season with Acosta's arrival. With GasGas Tech3 team, he had access to the latest components in hand in hand with his own results. It was precisely the Spanish rider's arrival that marked a turning point for the Austrian manufacturer.
"Thanks to Pedro, we had a great opportunity to put this very model to the test this year," Beirer continued. "So it's also thanks to what he was able to achieve in the GasGas Tech3 team that weìre able to convince riders like Viñales and Bastianini to believe in our project."
The ball will then pass entirely into the hands, and results, of the four riders.
"I didn't tell Enea that he wasn't going to be a new team leader, but I didn't tell Maverick either. We want them both to perform well. This is racing, the strongest will survive and be the captain. We decided that all four will wear orange because we want to take another step forward."
The goal for the future has been set.
"Looking at the current standings, these four riders now occupy the positions from fourth to seventh in the standings. The goal is clearly the other three places in front. I think this project will be really very competitive, also thanks to Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargarò who continue to work on the development of the bike, as well as being helpful to the riders themselves, personally. Obviously, there are no guarantees, but I feel that the 2025 line up will help us take that extra step to follow our primary goal for the future (ed. the title)."
