Apart from finishing first in the Dakar Rally for the 16th consecutive time, KTM moves this year to the supreme class of motorcycle racing. Yes, KTM and Red Bull are getting into the MotoGP World Championship in 2017, and this is their new machine.
The KTM RC16 was first rolled out at the end of October 2015 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (AUT), and since then, the team has performed more than 50 test days on various GP circuits.
Test rider Mika Kallio (FIN), also rode the racing bike as a wild card entry in the final round of last year’s MotoGP season at Valencia in November. The team’s two factory riders, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, will start chasing the world championship points when the season begins in Qatar at the end of March.
“It’s beautiful, and riding the bike is beautiful,” said rider Pol Espargaro. “It feels really good. KTM is very new in MotoGP compared to the other brands. We are making huge steps forward, and we're improving. Every time we jump on the bike we are closer to the others, and it is great to see the evolution. I just want to say thanks to KTM for putting their trust in me and this project."
The team had its ups and downs during the testing phases but is glad itmanaged to keep its two riders motivated and delivered them what they feel is good for achieving good lap times.
At the same time, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Team, with Brad Binder and Miguel Oliviera riding the KTM Moto2 machine will be on the grid in the medium class of the Motorcycle World Championship.
KTM has been the most successful brand in Moto3 since its introduction in 2012 and is the current title-holder after Binder won the grand prize last year. Binder now moves to the superior Moto2 class, while his previous team will race along with Niccolo Antonelli and Bo Bendsneyder in 2017.
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