MotoGP now has 22 riders for 11 teams, a slightly lower number than expected by the promoter, since the 12th team that should have been present on the starting grid abandoned the championship a year ago. After the unexpected exit of Suzuki, which fielded only one official team, there are now five manufacturers, with a rather unbalanced presence between them: Ducati provides three independent teams in addition to its official team, for a total of eight bikes. KTM, Aprilia and Honda have four bikes each and Yamaha only has two at the moment.
KTM sits halfway between Ducati and Yamaha, with a classic organization divided between the official team and the satellite team. But Pit Beirer, head of the sports program, has no intention of stopping there. The idea is to field six bikes and he wants to explore the possibilities in the first three months of 2024 to decide whether the project is worth pursuing.
“We want to make a final decision within the first three months of the year whether we want a third MotoGP team,” Pit Beirer tells Speedweek. “If you asked me today, I would answer 'Yes, I want to have a third team'. Simply because having six drivers instead of four has its advantages. We have more time on the track during the Grands Prix, we can compare a greater amount of data, we have more margin next to the top four riders if ever a young, new, emerging talent does well. We can then react and keep that talent within the KTM family.”
“It would be extremely useful for our project to have two more places in MotoGP. For this reason we will start discussions for 2025 with all independent teams whose contracts with manufacturers are about to expire,” added the German manager.
However, the options seem very limited, judging by the existing links between the six customer teams and the five manufacturers currently involved in MotoGP. In addition to Tech3, Pramac and Gresini, linked to Ducati, and Trackhouse Racing, the new Aprilia satellite team, which has already announced that it has extended its agreement with the Italian manufacturer, can be excluded.
That leaves VR46 and LCR, whose contracts expire at the end of next season. Valentino Rossi's team is already undecided whether to remain in the Ducati group or sell to Yamaha, which seems to be the most logical alternative. As for Lucio Cecchinello's team, it has been a faithful partner of Honda since 2006 and its bond with HRC will not be easy to break. KTM already approached him last summer, without success, although the former rider was careful not to close the door on the future. But his team's experience could be interesting not only for KTM, given that Yamaha has a visceral need to find a satellite team and for the moment has no guarantee of succeeding with VR46.
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Pit Beirer would like to see two additional bikes on the MotoGP 2025 grid.
“I'll try to make a hypothesis and say that we could have a third MotoGP team for 2025. We would need two more riders and we could keep the four we currently have. In fact, this is the scenario I'm dreaming of,” emphasizes Pit Beirer , who knows full well how much the lack of places has cost his group this year.
In fact, the Mattighofen company has already thought about how to strengthen its team. The group has been looking to place one or even two more bikes on the grid in 2024, to solve the problem that has dominated behind the scenes for many weeks this year: having five riders under contract, for just four places. KTM has asked Dorna for the right to take over the two places left vacant by Suzuki, but without success: the promoter is reserving them for the possible entry of a sixth manufacturer.
Although the Pierer Mobility group, of which KTM is part, owns other brands, having them engaged in the way it did with GasGas does not fit into the framework Dorna wanted. From this year, in fact, the Spanish manufacturer is part of the Tech3 team, which presents itself as the official team, but the bikes are still KTM RC16s and the technical management is still guided by Pit Beirer and his structure. So, officially, there are still five manufacturers present in MotoGP, without GasGas having replaced Suzuki.
There is another brand that the group would like to invest in, namely MV Agusta. But to be allowed to enter it as an additional team, Pierer Mobility would have to make it a full-fledged manufacturer, developing its own technical program around a new bike.
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