KTM will keep racing in MotoGP
Last month, KTM’s co-CEOs Stefan Pierer, and Gottfried Neumeister, finally addressed the issues surrounding the company’s reported troubles and said that it will initiate a legal restructuring proceeding with self-administration.
So, the next question was, will KTM stop its racing program, particularly in the MotoGP, to save money? The answer seems to be a big NO, according to none other than the grandson of one of the founders of KTM and current Deputy Chairman of Pierer Group, Hubert Trunkenpolz.
“To pre-empt all speculation, we will be racing in MotoGP next year and the year after,” said Trunkenpolz. “We have a contract with Dorna [Sports] that we are fulfilling and that will only happen with the KTM brand. We have to promote the brand, we see sport as the most important marketing tool for the KTM brand, that's why we're doing it,” he added.
KTM Motorsport Director, Pit Beirer, also echoed Trunkenpolz’s sentiments, saying that though KTM may be in financial trouble, motorsport can be a positive tool to help the company get back on its feet.
“We are part of the company. If we have a problem together, then motorsport has to help. It goes without saying that we are now dealing with motorsport costs as efficiently as possible and are trying to bring sensible savings on board. We no longer have the ‘nice to have’ money, but we will do everything we can to ensure that we have the ‘must have’ [money]. We [also] will focus on making savings where it doesn’t hurt the rider on the track,” said Beirer.
