So we've been talking about KTM's woes a lot as of late. Like, a lot.
But today is, supposedly, good news on the KTM MotoGP front as the team says it's back developing this year's bike after having to pause late last year! Something that'll totally give Pedro Acosta the edge to secure his first championship! And that's cause for celebration, right?
RIGHT?! Well, maybe.
See, we've been here before. We've had KTM's assurances that everything is in fact fine and dandy at the Austrian manufacturer. We've heard the MotoGP team wouldn't be affected by KTM's insolvency proceedings and that everything is actually quite cool, after assuring us that the MotoGP team wouldn't be affected by the insolvency proceedings since they were "separate entities." But then it came out that it wasn't. That KTM would likely—baring an outside savior—would be leaving MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 at the end of 2025.
More than that, it was also assured that Acosta, KTM's biggest, shiniest star, was remaining steadfast in his dedication to the team and that he wasn't worried at all after a trip to Mattighofen. The reality was that he was quite worried about the season, though, and potentially looking to jump ship ahead of the season.
I don't know if you're playing at home, but I'm not sure that KTM can be trusted at present.
Speaking to the German outlet Speedweek, KTM MotoGP's chief developer Wolfgang Felber said, "As far as the preparations for the new season are concerned, everything is currently going its normal way. In recent years, we have trimmed all processes in such a way that we can build up the new machines in the third week of the year. It will work the same way in 2025 – next Monday we will start rebuilding all motorcycles."
Emphasis mine. And I want to emphasize that as, while reading, that struck me as an odd turn of phrase. Maybe it was an odd translation through Google? Maybe Felber misspoke? But even Felber then went on to say that this year's MotoGP bike would be only an evolution of last year's model, stating, "We are clearly talking about an evolutionary model 2025. A radical new approach was out of the question. We already had our actual shake-down at the last tests in 2024. The 2025 version worked as hoped, and the base is defined. The plan now is to build all machines accordingly with new parts."
While it's understandable that some wouldn't invest resources into fully developing a new motorcycle for the season, especially with new regulations coming down the pipeline in a year or so, the fact that KTM is only evolving the bike for this year, which saw a lot of movement among the rider's grid, is interesting to say the least.
I mean, KTM has a LOT riding on this year's season, which is potentially its last. But more than that, while KTM did come in second place in the constructors championship, the manufacturer was a whopping 400 points behind Ducati, while only 27 points ahead of Aprilia, which had considerably smaller a footprint and funding. That's not a lot of breathing room to say, "Yeah, last year's motorcycle was great! Let's not touch it!"
What it may speak to, however, is that KTM doesn't have the funds to do anything to elongate that gap between Aprilia and itself. It can't come up with the funds due to the group's insolvency proceedings, despite everyone, again, saying everything is fine. And while I don't disregard that these folks don't want to come out and say, "We're screwed," the whole "This is fine, actually" schtick is wearing thin, and most of us can see right through it.
MotoGP's first race is in just over a month and will take place in Thailand.
