The Austrian house has a hole of three billion. And Lewis seems interested in taking it over thanks also to his contacts with Red Bull. If everything fails, Borgo Panigale hypothesis for “Pedrito”
Ktm is looking for a way out of a crisis which, with a three billion euro hole and long queues of unsold motorcycles, risks even leading it to close its doors, or in any case to a strong downsizing. And the races? Fluctuating messages continue: the negative ones are more insistent than the positive ones. What was said a few days ago by the Austrian manufacturer’s top driver Pedro Acosta was reassuring: “We don’t have to worry”. Nothing is ruled out, even the closure of the racing department, which should be put on standby. Positively, the racing management company, de facto owned by the Pierer Group and Ktm, is in any case outside of those included in the accounting books brought to court. Pedro Acosta is certainly not a stranger and has the right to have his say on this issue too. However, the twenty-year-old, two-time Moto3 and Moto2 world champion, among those eligible to conquer the MotoGP world championship in the next two-three years, is not inside the intricacies of the markets and, more generally, of the economy and may have been led to certain declarations also optimistic due to internal and external pressures at Ktm. “Pedrito”, or whoever he is, is however careful to grasp any signs that could open up other paths for him. Dorna, the company that manages MotoGP, and Liberty Media, the company ready to replace it while waiting for the EU’s approval, are focusing on Acosta, no longer considered only potentially number one on the track but soon to be the emblem of the “new” MotoGP. If KTM overcomes the current crisis and, above all, remains competitive and with adequate strength in MotoGP, then Acosta is ready to make his contribution. Otherwise, Pedro has someone who will open the doors for him, even – in case of emergency – starting from the next 2025 season: Borgo Panigale.
negative air
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This is because the atmosphere in the upper levels of institutions and politics in Austria remains negative and has been reflected in the media where even members of the national government have closed the Ktm-racing issue, defining it as “immoral” to continue investing in racing in this situation. It’s a fact that racing costs money, it costs a lot. In motorcycling, more generally in motorsport, when a company goes into crisis, the racing sector is the first to pay the consequences. It’s always been like this. However, it must also be said that the racing department of large manufacturers is still tempting and, in these cases, there is no shortage of people who come forward, checks in hand, to purchase and relaunch what would otherwise risk falling into ruin. At this point, there is only one certainty: either new investors immediately enter KTM into this game or goodbye to racing. How can we fail to remember, in different eras, what happened to the great Italian manufacturers MV Agusta, Benelli, Morini and before that to Gilera, Guzzi, Mondial? In recent days, even the statements of the KTM racing manager Pit Beirer no longer allow any doubts: “New sponsors are not enough, new investors are needed”. To race in MotoGP and to remain competitive, adequate investments are needed, money coming “from outside” also because in this situation of serious crisis the bankruptcy trustee will never give the OK to put a single euro into racing.
good news
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In this context, there is some good news. Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is interested in MotoGP and could seize the opportunity of the KTM crisis to enter “as master” in a top-level team in the premier class. This may also be favored by the arrival of the Formula 1 management company Liberty Media as the new “owner” of the world championship (even if, as mentioned, the EU issue in Brussels has not yet been resolved). Despite this very difficult situation for KTM, or precisely thanks to this, meetings between Pit Baier and Hamilton’s management have intensified. We went into the merits, not only technically, but also in relation to the sponsor issue, starting with the relationship with Red Bull (again with Ktm), when Hamilton is, as is known, Monster’s man. Today, among the KTM riders, the only one wearing a Red Bull cap is Pedro Acosta. It means that however the KTM issue will end, for Acosta there is a way out, it is already ready, at the highest level. Red Bull no longer has Marc Marquez, but there is always Binder and, above all, “Pedrito”, considered the best of a future that is already present.
opportunity
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In short, the Ktm crisis could also turn into opportunities for the Mattighofen company, at least with respect to the racing sector, primarily MotoGP. Ditto for Pedro Acosta who can look forward to his future with peace of mind, however the KTM issue ends. For the champion driver there is always a new door that opens. When Agostini realized that the MV Agusta 350 and 500 4-stroke were no longer competitive he switched to the Yamaha 2-stroke, winning his last two world championships.
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