Photo: Repsol Honda
Dani Pedrosa’s former crew chief Mike Leitner announced he will be joining the ranks of the KTM Factory Racing outfit and will be involved in the development of the new Mattighofen V4 bike with which the Austrian manufacturer plans to make a comeback in the premier class in 2017.
The end of the 2014 championship brought the end of the road for the long-standing relationship between Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and his crew chief Mike Leitner. Leitner and Pedrosa have worked together for a whopping 9 years, since the Spaniard’s move from the 125cc to the 250GP in 2004.
With Leitner as the head of his team, Pedrosa won both seasons he spent in the 250GP class prior to stepping into the spotlight in MotoGP in 2006. Pedrosa scored 26 victories in the premier class, and finished in the runner-up position in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
Even though Repsol Honda officials said that everything was going to be okay, we cannot help remembering that Pedrosa had a terrible end of the season, missing the podium despite his runner-up positions rounds before the final act in Valencia. Rumors have it that Pedrosa was also considering changing his crew chief the way Valentino Rossi did, hoping for a noticeable revival of the whole racing paradigm.
"It will be an exciting and interesting challenge, as we’re starting from scratch. It is nice to see an Austrian company and an owner like Stefan Pierer to start such a great project. There is not much happening from other factories in the German speaking part of the world. I like challenges and I am happy to be part of it," Leitner tells motogp.com.
Leitner is going to be the man with the biggest MotoGP experience in KTM’s MotoGP team, which already includes more than 20 technicians. The RC16 machine is a V4 prototype with pneumatic valves and a seamless gearbox, plus WP suspensions. The ex-MotoGP rider Alex Hofmann has recently been confirmed as one of the test riders for KTM. The first outings of the KTM RC16 are said to take place this autumn.
As for Leitner, he's still orange, though his new livery has another shade...
With Leitner as the head of his team, Pedrosa won both seasons he spent in the 250GP class prior to stepping into the spotlight in MotoGP in 2006. Pedrosa scored 26 victories in the premier class, and finished in the runner-up position in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
Leitner’s move was unexpected
As for Leitner’s decision to call it quits with Honda, nobody seems to have seen this coming. Repsol Honda team manager Livio Suppo says that the whole thing was unexpected. “It was a last-minute decision by Mike. We respect it. It was a question of changing lifestyle. Now we have to think about how to replace him,” Suppo declared for Dorna TV in October 2014.Even though Repsol Honda officials said that everything was going to be okay, we cannot help remembering that Pedrosa had a terrible end of the season, missing the podium despite his runner-up positions rounds before the final act in Valencia. Rumors have it that Pedrosa was also considering changing his crew chief the way Valentino Rossi did, hoping for a noticeable revival of the whole racing paradigm.
A 125GP rider going technical
Mike Leitner is 52 now and has a racing past himself, having started 57 grand prix in the 125cc class before deciding to follow the technical path and spending two years with Ohlins prior to joining Pedrosa’s crew."It will be an exciting and interesting challenge, as we’re starting from scratch. It is nice to see an Austrian company and an owner like Stefan Pierer to start such a great project. There is not much happening from other factories in the German speaking part of the world. I like challenges and I am happy to be part of it," Leitner tells motogp.com.
Leitner is going to be the man with the biggest MotoGP experience in KTM’s MotoGP team, which already includes more than 20 technicians. The RC16 machine is a V4 prototype with pneumatic valves and a seamless gearbox, plus WP suspensions. The ex-MotoGP rider Alex Hofmann has recently been confirmed as one of the test riders for KTM. The first outings of the KTM RC16 are said to take place this autumn.
As for Leitner, he's still orange, though his new livery has another shade...
Google News