At the end of the Indonesian Grand Prix, a major change in KTM’s ranks for the future was confirmed. As already announced by Motorsport.com, Francesco Guidotti will leave the role of team manager of the official team, in favor of the arrival of Aki Ajo, one of the best team managers in the lower categories with his successful structure.
The Mattighofen-based company thanked Guidotti for his services in a statement, ahead of his departure from a role he has held since 2022, when he replaced Mike Leitner. But after Mandalika, the Italian was unable to make any public appearance.
In Motegi, however, he was able to give an interview to the official MotoGP website. Guidotti was sympathetic towards the decision made by the Pierer Group, stating that it was the “right move” in the current circumstances – with KTM trying to close the gap on Ducati – but also confessed that he was leaving with peace of mind if he thinks about the work he has done.
“I don’t think it’s sad news. I think it’s the right move at this time,” Guidotti began, understanding the business decision. “KTM is a great company and after the first five or six years they decided to do something different.”
The Italian claims that the orange bikes have made some fundamental steps forward in recent times, but not enough to finish the job and be able to fight for victory. And this is a goal to be achieved in view of 2025, the year in which Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta will join the official team as well as Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini in the Tech3 team. “We have evolved a lot over the last three years and I believe Aki is the right person to get the job done.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
In fact, speaking of the Finnish manager, Guidotti underlined how valuable he was for KTM for his work in Moto2 and Moto3, helping Binder and Acosta on their path to MotoGP and making them world champions: “He has the right credibility in the company. He knows the riders he will be looking after next year very well.”
Finally, he wanted to downplay the decision: “I don’t see any drama. I did my job. I’m happy with what I did and I’m happy that someone can finish the job for this company”, concluded the Italian, whose future in MotoGP is yet to be defined.
Other former KTM members, however, have already found a future destination. At the Japanese GP it was confirmed that Fabiano Sterlacchini, former technical director, will join Aprilia in the same position immediately after the Valencia Grand Prix, even before the 2025 deadline. He will replace Romano Albesiano, who will be Honda’s new technical director, in replacing Ken Kawauchi, now in the HRC test team.
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