Jonas Folger will continue as a test rider for KTM in MotoGP in 2024. The rider joined the project this year, standing in as a replacement for Pol Espargaró at GasGas Tech3 on six occasions. Despite the Spaniard taking on the role of test and wildcard rider, the German will remain within the structure.

Confirmation came from KTM Motorsport director Pit Beirer, speaking to SPEEDWEEK.com: ‘We extended the contract with Jonas. First, because he did a great job this year as a test rider and because he did a good job as a reserve rider this year when he came to Texas and really replaced Pol in many races’.

In an expanded team of test riders, veterans Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio also remain, a situation that pleases the manufacturer as stated by the Austrian: ‘With three test riders, we are certainly in a luxury situation. And we also have Mika. Our MotoGP test team really likes working with Jonas. That’s why there was no discussion about the new agreement’.

O conteúdo Jonas Folger remains as KTM’s test rider for MotoGP in 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Red Bull KTM debuted an unusual rear wing during the first free practice session at the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix on Jack Miller’s bike.

The aerodynamic solution appears to have complexity in its design, with a lot of detail, yet there’s currently no information available on its intended purpose or the benefits it may offer.

What is certain is its strikingly unusual appearance, another testament to the MotoGP’s competitive environment where creativity and innovation seemingly know no bounds.

O conteúdo Red Bull KTM debuts a peculiar rear wing at Losail aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller, after finishing 8th in the Malaysian GP, is motivated for the Qatar GP. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider spoke about the new state of the Losail circuit and his expectations for this weekend.

– ‘ Excited to be back at this circuit, this year at the end of the season instead of the beginning, but happy, they’ve done a good job on the conditions of the circuit and the paddock in such a short time. The bike is usually competitive here, we have some work to do, but we want to finish the season strong. I’ll try to concentrate the good work on one lap because here every lap is really long. We’ll use the data we get, from Brad and Miguel last year and from the satellite team, but at the end of the day, here in Qatar, there are a lot of variations from one day to the other.

Asked about the differences from last year that he will feel this year, Jack replied: “It will all be different, I keep asking why they didn’t make a new circuit. We know what this country can do when it wants to invest in something. For them to do what they’ve done in such a short time is impressive. We’ll be working on speed, braking and cornering on everything, basically.

O conteúdo ‘Everything will be different, I keep asking why they didn’t make a new circuit’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After a challenging 2023 season due to injuries suffered at the MotoGP Portugal GP, Pol Espargaró lost his spot at GasGas Tech3 to Pedro Acosta, becoming a test rider for the next year with various wildcard appearances. Despite the possibility of returning to Repsol Honda, he stuck with his initial decision.

Espargaró explained his reasons to the official MotoGP website, stating: ‘I felt that I had to take this step in my career. Take a step to the side, not backward. And try to help the factory and a rider like Pedro. The future needs to continue building in this factory. And in this case, Pedro is the one who is taking my place’.

He acknowledged a debt of gratitude to KTM, saying: ‘I am the rider I am today thanks to them. We’ve helped each other. But I think I learned a lot there, and I have a lot to give back to them. And if I stay here, it’s because I really feel and believe that this is the best manufacturer in the championship’.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaó loyal to KTM: ‘I’m the rider I am today thanks to them’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller finished Sunday’s Malaysian GP in 8th place overall. The Australian rider continues to show progress in his results and in the development of his bike, after less positive results. 

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider spoke about the race and the feelings he had during the weekend in Malaysia.

– ‘ It wasn’t the worst or the best race I’ve done. I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong, the pace was good, clearly we have a lot of work to do because the guys at the front had great pace and we finished 19 seconds or 20 behind the front group. It was difficult at the start, I couldn’t overtake Bezz and that slowed my pace a bit. My front tire heated up a lot at that stage and I had to slow down a bit and the Yamaha riders passed me, but overall I managed to save the tires for the end and have a good race. The pressure was good and I was able to ask for more from my front at the end of the race. When the pressure increases the front starts to lock up straight away and the grip disappears, but we’ll work harder and try to be stronger next weekend in Qatar.

Asked about the difference in his riding style in terms of managing tire pressure, Jack replied: ‘We need to work on that more, in the last corner I had no grip at all, as soon as I touched the throttle I couldn’t accelerate, but we’ll work on that, I was trying to improve everything I could, but I was always struggling to have grip, especially when I had the Ducati around me I was always trying to find the best trajectory. This weekend we had a good bike, we were riding at a good pace all weekend, I liked the bike, but unfortunately today we lost almost a second a lap’.

O conteúdo ‘It wasn’t the worst or the best race I’ve done, I didn’t feel I did anything wrong’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jack Miller is competing in the Malaysian MotoGP this weekend, marking the first time he races on a track where he has previously been with Red Bull KTM. The bike has changed since the tests last February, but the rider is confident in a strong performance in Sepang.

The Australian said to the journalists that he is expecting a good performance: ‘I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s the first GP track for me on the KTM. I’m looking forward to see how we get on. It should be a good weekend, it’s a place I like and I think it’s a place where the bike can do really well. And we are back on the normal rear tyre again’.

Despite the changes to the KTM RC16 since the test, Miller emphasized that the bike was already good at that time, and the foundation remains: ‘At the end of the day, the chassis changed obviously, but it’s not three seconds a lap – it’s more a rider feeling kind of thing more than anything. So, at the end of the day it’s not black and white, night and day. It’s micro adjustments here and there. The base package was already very competitive at the beginning of the year here and I think coming back and racing it will be right. And for sure having the data from the test at the beginning of the year you will always looking at that’.

O conteúdo ‘The chassis changed since the test, but it’s not 3s a lap’ – Jack Miller aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM have yet to secure victories in the 2023 MotoGP season with three rounds remaining. The next one is this weekend at the Malaysian GP.

The South African was asked in a press conference if Sepang represents a good chance to achieve that triumph. In response, Binder stated:

– If I look back at my last two races, I felt like Australia I messed up myself and then last weekend I really wanted to give it a go, but I put myself on the green. I haven’t really been able to put it together. I feel like we’ve been fast at most of last tracks, especially the last five or six. And I’d love nothing more than to finally get a win for my team because I feel like they really deserve it. Yeah, we’ve won two Sprints, but to get the main race is the goal.

O conteúdo ‘We’ve won two Sprints, but to get the main race is the goal’ – Brad Binder aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

With just a few weeks left in the MotoGP season and ahead of the Valencia tests, Dani Pedrosa recently returned to the KTM RC16 for private tests at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto.

According to the website Motosan.es, the KTM test rider had the opportunity to work on the track again, primarily to test components and the new developments of the bike – in an crucial stage of preparations for the upcoming season.

This year, KTM is in second place in the Constructors’ World Championship with three rounds to go, also fighting for a top-five finish in the riders’ championship with Brad Binder and in the teams’ championship with Red Bull KTM.

O conteúdo Dani Pedrosa tested KTM RC16 again in Jerez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

With three rounds to go, KTM is in second place in the Constructors’ World Championship and has been the main rival of the dominant and already crowned Ducati. These are impressive results that make the manufacturer from Mattighofen proud, six years after entering the premier class, as confirmed by the Sports Director, Pit Beirer.

The Austrian told SPEEDWEEK.com: ‘We didn’t achieve all our goals, but we are still proud of our performance. Because we only entered MotoGP in 2017 and we are now the strongest challenger for the Ducati team – I dare say’.

Beirer acknowledged the good work done by Ducati but also emphasized that KTM is second in the constructors’ hierarchy on its own merit: ‘They have set the standard, I take my hat off to them! Since they have eight riders, opponents have to be very strong to reach the podium or close to the podium. Sometimes we narrowly missed the podium in races outside of Europe, but now it worked out in Thailand. That’s why we deserve to be the second in the constrcutor standings. We are proud of that’.

O conteúdo ‘KTM is now Ducati’s strongest challenger’ – Pit Beirer aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

KTM has already announced Pedro Acosta as a rider for GasGas Tech3 in MotoGP in 2024, but rumors continue to circulate about his possible promotion to the premier class with the Red Bull KTM team.

According to SPEEDWEEK.com, the possibility of the Spanish rider moving directly to the factory team may not be entirely ruled out. If this were to happen, Jack Miller would move to GasGas Tech3. Given Acosta’s strong results in Moto2, the German publication questions: ‘Will the Pierer Group stick to the plan and continue with [Brad] Binder and Miller at Red Bull KTM? Or could Pedro Acosta be transferred to the KTM Factory Team instead of Miller?’.

Pit Beirer, KTM’s Motorsports Director, appears to deny this possibility, stating: ‘Miller is planned for KTM, and Acosta for GasGas’.

Despite these statements, it wouldn’t be the first time KTM promoted a rider directly from Moto2 to their factory team, as was the case with Brad Binder in 2020. The Austrian team is well aware of Acosta’s talent and potential, so much so that the Director, Hubert Trunkenpolz, referred to him as the ‘new Marc Márquez’ this summer.

For now, any scenario that puts Acosta in Red Bull KTM and Miller in GasGas Tech3 in 2024 remains pure speculation. However, given that the Australian rider has struggled to meet expectations in his first season, and Acosta is seen as a precious talent for the future, such a swap would not be entirely out of the question, despite the official announcements already made.

O conteúdo Could Pedro Acosta join Red Bull KTM in place of Jack Miller as early as 2024? aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.