KTM’s hope to have a fifth bike on the 2024 MotoGP grid has been extinguished.
Dorna executives Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta told KTM bosses, in a meeting on Friday at the Austrian MotoGP, that they would not allow them to add an extra bike next season.
They must now solve their issue of having five contracted riders for only four bikes – Jack Miller and Brad Binder are their factory duo, Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez are their Tech3 GASGAS pair, and Pedro Acosta has been promised a promotion from Moto2.
KTM CEO Stefan Pierer told Speedweek: “We still have a lot of grands prix ahead of us this year. You can see how many injuries happen all the time.
“The next topic: As usual, there will be an elimination race. We will find a solution.”
KTM board member Hubert Trunkenpolz said: “The second half of the season counts now. We’re not making a decision for the time being.
“Because what do we do when Pol finishes on the podium in Misano, for example? He doesn’t look unmotivated. That’s why we don’t want to retire Pol now.”
Asked if Espargaro and Fernandez are in direct competition over one seat, Trunkenpolz replied: “We’re still looking at a few races.”
KTM believe they will benefit from an extra rider of MotoGP quality in their ranks.
“With a total of 42 or even 44 races, we will always need replacement riders in the coming season,”Trunkenpolz said.
“With so many competitions, the risk of failure increases. And if we can offer a test rider six wildcards and there is also the option of being used as a substitute rider, those are lucrative incentives.”
The option exists to use Espargaro or Fernandez as a test rider who can step in as a reserve for either the KTM factory team or Tech3 GASGAS in the event of an injury.
“In today’s MotoGP format, there are more and more injuries,” Peirer said.
“But few teams have test or reserve riders who can score points.
“We’ve seen how difficult Jonas Folger found it to replace Pol from Texas to Assen. We were happy that he stepped in, but it wasn’t really a [like-for-like replacement].
“We have agreed with Dorna that the status of test and reserve riders will be upgraded and that higher-quality riders can be committed to this task.”
Trunkenpolz added: “Next year in MotoGP, six instead of three wildcards will probably be allowed per manufacturer.”
Pierer confirmed: “Yes, that’s being discussed now. We discussed with Dorna: ‘How do we get competitive replacement riders in the future?’
“[Lorenzo Salvadori] and whatever their name is, they don’t ride at the level of regular riders.
“We also need a fast second test rider alongside Dani Pedrosa. Because when it comes to further development, only a rider who is fast and good will help us.”
KTM are keeping one eye on 2025 when they hope to have more than four bikes on the grid.
For now, they must assess Espargaro’s recovery from terrible injuries which kept him sidelined until the ninth round. In Austria, he showed a glimpse of his ability.
Rookie Fernandez has also impressed enough to warrant a longer stay.
“Augusto Fernandez is in his first year in MotoGP and is showing promise,” KTM confirmed.
“We’ve made the mistake of writing off a rookie too soon. We don’t want to make that mistake a second time.
“Augusto is Moto2 World Champion. He deserves a fair MotoGP chance. We definitely don’t want to lose him.
“Because who knows how many MotoGP bikes we will have on the grid in 2025.”
Keyword: KTM bid for fifth bike rejected - this is the new plan to solve rider headache