KTM boss Pit Beirer says the manufacturer will do whatever it takes to persuade teenage sensation Pedro Acosta to stay in its ranks. So why is his meteoric rise from Moto3 to Moto2 such a problem for the manufacturer?
It’s hard to deny that KTM has a keen eye when it comes to spotting new talent. Having relied on experienced racers – Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith and Johann Zarco – during its early MotoGP years to accelerate its ‘from scratch’ MotoGP effort, it has enjoyed its most notable successes with its own protégés.
While Espargaro was arguably the lynchpin of the project between current factory riders Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder – a rider whom KTM, deeply disappointed, lost to Honda – it has now racked up five wins over the last two seasons.
It’s a level of confidence and development that KTM has good reason to be proud of, and it should be noted that this season will be the first to see all four seats – Factory and Tech 3 – occupied by riders from its own development program in Oliveira, Binder. Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez.
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However, the rise has to end somewhere, and what happens now with the four own young drivers at the top who come behind them?
It’s a bottleneck dilemma compounded by the rapid rise of Acosta, the 17-year-old who broke multiple records en route to the 2021 Moto3 World Championship in his rookie campaign.
While you can’t fault Acosta for being so impressive from the start, it does pose a problem for KTM’s future plans.
Not that it wasn’t willing to do so, if at all KTM might have considered giving Acosta a second season in Moto3 to put some distance between those headaches, but it instead jumped at a chance to bring him into its Moto2 season Team also driven by KTM Ajo Motorsport.
While it would be a tall order for Acosta to reel off another title in his debut Moto2 season, KTM recognizes that even a top five overall will confirm him as a true MotoGP star-in-waiting.
In short, he’s one rider that KTM will be happy to have a contract with their logo on the letterhead, even if it’s a headache as to what to do with him should he exceed expectations again.
While Acosta is close to starting a two-year deal with KTM, it won’t stop competing vultures circling if he impresses again in 2022 and the manufacturer is unable to push him into MotoGP. However, KTM is confident it can sidestep this hypothesis as long as it comes up with a long-term plan for him.
“We do a great job with young people and that’s why we raise great riders,” KTM boss Pit Beirer told GPOne. “Pedro is very talented, he has a contract with us for a couple of years.
“I hope he wants to stay because he sees a good partner in KTM. We’ll see who will try to get him next year. We can’t force him to stay, but we want to convince him with the job.”
Pressure on KTM’s MotoGP riders for 2022
Not that KTM would make it easy for rivals to buy him out of his contract.
Last year, Yamaha showed great interest in Fernandez, so much so that the Spaniard himself expressed a great desire to switch allegiances. However, a hefty price tag of reportedly €500,000 was placed on his crossing, which put off Yamaha and prompted some scathing remarks from Fernandez himself.
In fact, KTM has been here before. The late start to the 2020 MotoGP season helped invalidate the performance clause in Jorge Martin’s contract and opened the door for Ducati to step in and snap him up for 2021, much to KTM’s chagrin.
Additionally, the Fernandez case sets the tone for potential future troubles for KTM. While Remy Gardner was always expected to bid for the title – anything else would have been a disappointment indeed – Fernandez threw his two-year plan out the window by immediately proving quick and forcing KTM to offer him a MotoGP spot for 2022 Or risk losing it altogether.
It’s a scenario – positive as it may be – KTM fears will be echoed by Acosta because while Fernandez hasn’t shot himself in the foot, knowing that his Tech 3 riders – Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona – not having any specific connections to KTM, that’s not the case in 2022.
That’s not to say KTM has to show loyalty to its own well-trained quartet, and if anything, the added pressure could give the likes of Oliveira and Binder the proverbial kick in the butt for better results, but Acosta – or even Fernandez and Gardner – start to perform well, let’s just say KTM might not be blocking interest from opposing teams.
Could KTM increase its MotoGP presence?
The problem for KTM is just before it halts its development program, it’s a problem that may well continue to crop up in the future.
One way around this would be to increase the number of RC16s in the MotoGP grid. After reacting with some annoyance to Dorna allowing Ducati to dominate the 2022 MotoGP entry list with eight bikes, KTM has indicated it would be ready to add a third team.
This would likely come in the form of a de facto manufacturer listing under the GASGAS banner, a move Dorna would no doubt like given their Spanish nationality.
The MX and Enduro experts made a successful short track debut in Moto3 in 2021, so much so that it has been extended to Moto2 this season. While KTM may prefer to focus on results for 2022 rather than direct resources to bring GASGAS onto the MotoGP grid for 2023, it’s worth noting that behind the name stands well-stocked and experienced ex-MotoGP team Aspar.
Much will likely depend on how Acosta fares in Moto2, which alone puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders in just his second season in the GP ranks.
Call it an embarrassment for KTM. It’s not a bad situation to be in, but it’s a welcome scenario that could still lead to an undesirable outcome if not strategized now.
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