KTM’s Motorsport director spoke at length about the simultaneous double hit of the market: “We had to be ready”
June 14, 2024
GOn Thursday 13 June, at the same time, KTM announced the arrival of the Tech3 team Enea Bastianini And Maverick Viñales, thus completing its quartet of drivers for next season.
On Friday KTM’s motorsport director, Pit Beirer, he spoke in a video call with journalists to better explain the double simultaneous arrival.
On Vinales…
“We have never lost contact with Maverick since he won a world title on a KTM many years ago (Moto3, 2013, ed.). Our friendship and our relationship have always continued so we have always remained close. At a certain point we met, we talked and he made us understand that he wanted to come with us. He wasn’t like some riders, who waited to see if the doors of the Ducati opened. His involvement was very strong from the beginning. Then things happened quickly.”
More on Vinales…
“I have the feeling that he has a very good team and a very good bike right now, so it was also a positive surprise for us to see that he was very open and very serious about the subject, that he was not trying to get an offer from our part to get more from someone else. We met, discussed the terms and agreed. There was no back and forth or ups and downs.”
THEThe market accelerated after the moves of Aprilia and Ducati at Mugello (Martin at Noale, MM at Borgo Panigale)…
“It’s clear that if things like those at Mugello happen you have to be quick in putting together your package. After the discussions with Ducati it was clear that the riders wanted to decide very quickly. I think we did our homework well and that we were ready to react at the right time”
Have you spoken to Martin and Marquez?
“I know Marc and Jorge and we talk sometimes, but we never had a real conversation about a contract because they were focused on their program, so quite early on we went down another path to get a package that was as strong as possible”
The arrival of Vinales and Bastianini marks the farewell of Miller and Augusto Fernandez…
“I thought we might have had a little more time to get the drivers there, but the market has been hectic and if you don’t take the opportunity… then we made the difficult decision to move forward. We gave up something when clearly we didn’t it was in our plans. Mugello was the moment, everything happened very quickly and the window to recruit these two riders was very, very narrow. We had to react very quickly and that’s what we did.”
When did you sign with Vinales?
“Wednesday evening at 8pm, a few hours before it was made official via press release the following morning”
More on Maverick…
“Personally I have a very close bond with Maverick. From a human point of view, it is very important for him to have a good environment in which he feels at home. We all know that he then he can work miracles. But if you feel uncomfortable, you don’t just slide down one or two positions, you go in the wrong direction. We have good ideas and good people on the team to work with. He gave me a very warm feeling during our conversations and we would like to return it to him. Maverick also has a certain age and we know his qualities. If he wakes up in the morning and says that he can win the GP, then he is almost unbeatable. So we have to make sure we can trigger that feeling in him very often.”
Su Bastianini…
“If he continued with us as he did at Mugello we would be very happy. We need fast, high-quality riders. My goal is for him to have a team and a bike that he is happy with. If he is happy, he will give his best. We need to take advantage of the time until they come to us to prepare the package so they can give their best”
On the general objectives…
“We have taken the best riders in the world to be able to fight for the podium. We have the pressure to provide them with the right package so they can perform at their best. They proved themselves GP winners. I firmly believe that we are very, very strong with this package and with Dani and Pol. It’s never a guarantee, of course, but we believe it will help us take the next step in this class.”
In Aprilia Vinales has Manuel Cazeaux as Vinales’ crew chief, while Bastianini gave his best in Gresini with Alberto Giribuola, now in KTM. Will they be the crew chiefs of the new arrivals?
“We want to offer the drivers the environment they need but today I won’t talk about the team members”
