Every week, there are dozens of stories emanating from the MotoGP circus, involving every rider and every team. There is one story, however, that has particular relevance for South Africa as it concerns the team our local hero rides for: KTM.
The Austrian manufacturer’s financial troubles have been extensive and well-documented over the past year or so, but it appears that financial stability has returned to the company following a significant investment from several investors, most notably the Indian manufacturer Bajaj. The company already owned 49% of KTM but now, thanks to an initial 170 million pounds Sterling injection and, most recently, a further 500 million pounds Sterling boost, Bajaj is the majority shareholder.
So, all is now rosy in Austria? Well, not exactly. While three of India’s motorcycle companies, Hero Motocorp, Royal Enfield and TVS, are active in motorcycle sport in one way or another, Bajaj has no motorsport ambitions. Furthermore, Bajaj’s chairman, managing director and CEO, Rajiv Bajaj, is apparently completely anti-racing, believing that it is a waste of money and resources.
It’s not a new stance; Triumph Motorcycles’ boss from the 1930s through to his retirement in the 1960s, Edward Turner, steadfastly refused to commit to a factory racing programme believing the same thing as Bajaj; that it used up time and money that could be better used to develop motorcycles that would sell to the public. Given Triumph’s financial stature in this period, while rivals Norton enjoyed huge success on the race track but struggled with solvency throughout the same period, you’d have to say Turner’s opinion ultimately was the right one.
Given the level of its investment, Bajaj might well baulk at the 50 million pounds needed every year for the MotoGP project, especially when it is singularly failing to deliver the goods race weekend after race weekend. Throw in an anti-racing boss, and things are looking bleak for KTM’s MotoGP project.
The problem with this is that it erodes confidence throughout the team so that not only do riders start to leave for greener pastures, but so do essential team personnel, thus exacerbating the downward spiral. However, there are also reports that Bajaj sees value in MotoGP participation in the medium term, so maybe things aren’t as bleak as they seem.
That brings us to the travails of the four KTM MotoGP riders in 2025. Brad Binder was particularly vocal about the RC16 after the British GP at Silverstone; finishing 15th, he admitted that “that’s literally my level at present”, complaining of so much instability in the windy conditions that he was having to roll off the throttle on the straights, while the cooler temperatures left him feeling he was going to crash at every corner, as the front medium tyre offered no grip whatsoever.
“That was horrendous. Horrendous,” he said after the race at Silverstone. “I got off to a good start in the first one. Then the second one, I didn’t get a great launch at all. Anyway, I got past a few guys, but it was just so rough. I had so much shaking down the straight and from corner to corner that I kept rolling the gas on the straight, which is never a good thing. So, that was really not ideal. Just missing a lot of confidence, especially from the front.
“I felt fine when I was behind somebody and took a bit of temperature, but as soon as I was alone, I felt like I couldn’t crank the bike over because I felt like the front would wash the whole time. So, not very good for sure, really, really struggled that race. Even going slowly, I had moments where I was lucky not to have crashed. I need to find some confidence, just try and find a little bit of good feeling and try and use it.”
The big question now is, how long can this carry on?
“It’s not ideal for sure,” Binder added. “Don’t get me wrong, I mean f*** me, I know I’m not supposed to be riding in 15th position. But it is what it is, that’s literally my level. I feel like I could go with the boys a bit at the beginning, but then I have these funny moments. The last thing I want is not to finish four races in a row. Then at the end, riding around to my limit, I was having moments as well, and I said, “What the hell am I doing?” So, a little bit tricky. I need to find some confidence again, and I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
Binder’s teammate, Pedro Acosta, was similarly downbeat.
“It was a race of hopelessness,” he said. “It’s quite sad to see that you try to be perfect in acceleration and pick up the bike and lean angles and try to be close to the others, and then lose everything in acceleration. It’s clear that we don’t have the same amount of grip that the other bikes have.”
Perhaps Acosta has to be patient with the development of the RC16?
“I don’t accept, and I’m not patient. That’s it. Opportunity passes one time in life. I will not take all of my life to be a champion in this championship. I need help from the factory. That’s it.”
After a brilliant rookie year – on a KTM RC16, of course, albeit a satellite team bike – Acosta was obviously hoping for better things with the factory team; “I signed that contract – to come fight for a championship,” he said. “That is clear. To fight and even lose, but to fight for it. But I was talking about this problem from the first day of testing I did on this bike. But it’s still there. The problems are not something new.”
“Maybe this year the lap times are even closer and even faster, and it’s worse for us. Maybe having more brands being competitive is even harder for us. It looks like we are not as good as we thought. And it looks like we need to change things. I read that Yamaha brought a new chassis here. They made it to pole position. And he (Quartararo) was going to win the race…”
One of the KTM riders, however, seems to be coping much better with the wayward KTM. Maverick Viñales took a spectacular second place in Qatar before the position was stripped from him due to a tyre pressure infringement penalty. Then he had the top five races in Spain and France.
It seems he is fast becoming the reference point for the development of the RC16, which suffers in low grip conditions and rear chatter and vibration at the rear. This has become apparent since the introduction of Michelin’s new rear tyre at the beginning of last year. The tyre offers so much grip and this causes vibration, while at the same time overpowering the front tyre, affecting ultimate front-end grip, which brings issues with turning the bike.
These issues are clearly exacerbated by the riders feeling they have to push hard to maintain the pace of their rivals; Binder admitted he’s pushing too much, while Acosta can’t use the hard-braking style that worked so well for him last year because the bike simply doesn’t want to be ridden that way.
As Viñales said, “I had this idea that the KTM should be ridden aggressively. Because I saw Pol (Espargaro, KTM test rider) and Brad be so aggressive on the bike. But when I arrived, I started to ride aggressively, which I like, and I said, “This is not working, it’s not working at all, and I’m slow.” So, I decided to switch and ride smoothly, and it seems to work. But now I need to understand how I can ride smoothly while pushing a lot.”
Do all the KTM riders follow the lead set by Viñales, in terms of adapting their riding style to the bike rather than trying to bend the bike to their will? It seems they might have to if they can turn the RC16 into a competitive package. If that happens, then the chances of Acosta and Binder wanting to remain at KTM beyond the end of 2026, when both their contracts will be up for renewal, will be improved immeasurably.
