One of the big technical innovations of the 2023 MotoGP season was the carbon fiber frame introduced by KTM in the second half of the year. The Mattighofen company worked on this component in the hope of catching up with Ducati, with Dani Pedrosa taking care of much of the development, and it was the rider from Castellar del Vallès who made it debut at Misano in September.
The chassis then passed to the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders. Brad Binder and Jack Miller had him at their disposal in the last rounds of the year and had great sensations, especially the South African.
However, the Tech3 riders, Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernández, were not able to count on this new chassis, despite the fact that they were also driving a 2023 RC16. Something will change in 2024, the year in which the team will have Pedro Acosta among its ranks , replacing the Granollers pilot.
Nicolas Goyon, team manager of the French team, explained after the presentation of the new bike for this season the path that the carbon fiber frame had within the Austrian manufacturer, as well as the reason why they were not able to use it at first moment, and that they will have it starting from the pre-season tests, which start in a few days in Sepang.
“The situation with the carbon chassis was a bit complicated,” began Goyon in a meeting with the media, including Motorsport.com. “Honestly, they didn't intend to use it, they had it for testing. They used it on Pedrosa's bike at Misano and it was excellent. Then we did a test after Misano, the KTM riders tried it and it was so good that they decided to use it in the Grands Prix, but in reality there was nothing prepared in the factory.”
“None of the plans were to use this chassis for the end of the season. So it was a bit complicated and, at KTM, they had to react to this situation and press the production button, which is not so easy, especially on parts so difficult. So, obviously, last year we were a little bit behind in that respect, but in all other departments, and especially in aerodynamics, we were at the same level as the factory team, with maybe one race behind, which is the normal time to produce the parts”.
KTM carbon fiber chassis
“Efforts have been made in the factory and the weak points of this chassis have been improved. We will see in these first tests whether or not these improvements have been sufficient to allow us to work with these chassis in a more serene way. Last year, in fact, almost every time they fell, we had to change the frame and repair it in the factory or in the pits, and this took a long time. So we hope that the changes made this winter in the factory will allow us to work as with an aluminum or steel frame.” Goyon explained.
“If the question is whether we will start with the carbon frame this year, I can say yes, we will test it at some point and I'm pretty sure we will have the same package as the others to start the season in Qatar,” he said.
Nicolas Goyon will therefore be looking to have a big year after taking over as Tech3 manager in 2023, while Hervé Poncharal has focused on senior management duties. This was just one of the changes that the team had to face last year, to which were added the change in MotoGP format and the departure of Pol Espargaro.
“We had a lot of changes in 2023. In particular the new format, which was not easy to manage, and as team manager I also had to restructure the team. These are things that are already in place for next season,” concluded Goyon.
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