KTM Betting On Formula 1 Technology

[advrider]

Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM has had many successes in the motorcycle racing world. They have won championships in various off-road motorcycle racing categories— supercross, motocross, enduro, and cross-country rally. But there’s one category of motorcycle racing that they have yet to win a championship in. KTM hasn’t won a MotoGP title, even though it uses the tagline “Ready To Race” in its advertising, including its street bikes.

MotoGP Racing success

The company entered MotoGP racing in 2017, and it has yet to achieve the success it has in many other forms of motorcycle racing. While they have only been competing in MotoGP for five years, their success in other forms of motorcycle racing has not yet made it to the MotoGP paddock. With a handful of wins during their tenure in the sport, KTM boss Stefan Pierer is ready to look to the highest level of four-wheel racing for technical expertise.

KTM’s MotoGP bikes hope to benefit from Formula 1 technology in the future. Photo: KTM

Using Formula 1 technology

In an interview with Autosport, Pierer talked about Aprilia’s hiring of Massimo Rivola to its MotoGP factory racing team. Rivola had formerly been the Sporting Director at Ferrari F1 and also held roles with the Toro Rosso and Minardi F1 teams. Once at Aprilia, Rivola brought talent from F1. Notably, he brought F1 engineers skilled in tire degradation and aerodynamics.

Before the hiring, Aprilia consistently was at or near the bottom of the constructor’s standings. But it is now one of the best constructors in the MotoGP paddock, currently placed second out of 13 teams. Leading up to the San Marino GP, KTM sits fifth, nearly one hundred points shy of the series-leading Ducati Lenovo team.

And perhaps more importantly to Pierer, KTM is third out of the three European teams competing in MotoGP. So although Pierer wants European teams to do well and beat Japanese teams, he wants Team Orange to be at the top of the MotoGP series.

“I am very happy that in 2022 there will be three European manufacturers against two Japanese, given that Suzuki is leaving… I love that there will be competition between the European manufacturers. I like to beat the Japanese brands, it’s as simple as that.” – Stefan Pierer to Motorsport

Formula 1 technology in MotoGP

And it is likely that Aprilia’s rapid rise in the standings is what has caught KTM CEO Stefan Pierer’s attention. During his interview with Motorsport, Pierer is reported as saying:

“Aprilia incorporated F1 experience.”

“The new boss [Rivola] is very smart; I like him a lot. He came from F1 and brought with him a lot of experience at the aerodynamics level.” – Stefan Pierer to Motorsport

KTM may be looking to poach engineering talent from the Formula 1 Red Bull racing team. Image: Red Bull

But it is the next comments that confirm Pierer means to use F1-developed technology in the future. And he knows where he hopes to pick up some of that F1 technology and talent. Again, he was pretty clear to Autosport about his intent:

“Next year we are going to increase our commitment to staff coming from F1.”

“Luckily, we have a long-standing relationship with Red Bull, which is a winning team, so we know which door to knock on.”

“Red Bull has hundreds of aerodynamics technicians with a lot of experience. That will be one of the keys in 2023.” – Stefan Pierer to Motorsport

Red Bull Formula 1 team talent

Given that the Red Bull Formula 1 team occupies first place this year in the Formula 1 series, Pierer is setting his sights high. KTM already has a relationship with energy drink maker Red Bull. That would seem to give Pierer a leg up in potentially getting some talent from the F1 paddock.

But you have to wonder whether the Red Bull Formula 1 team knows that Pierer is looking to poach some of their talent. And if they do, will they be open to sending some valuable team members to KTM and MotoGP?

That said, money talks, and Red Bull can do little to stop its current employees from working elsewhere. Absent some type of written agreement to the contrary, some of Red Bull’s technology team could end up in the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer’s MotoGP paddock. And for a team who prides itself on winning championships, spending a lot of money on technology may seem a small price to pay to win a championship at what many see as the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.

 

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