It is undeniable that KTM has made clear progress in MotoGP, but it is still not enough to reach the desired level – fighting for titles. Pit Beirer, director of KTM Motorsport, was asked if he has a strategy to combat Ducati’s superiority in the new season.
The Austrian emphasized that the only possible approach is meticulous preparation and development work: ‘They are doing an amazing job, that’s clear, that’s proven, they showed on track. There is no strategy against Ducati. We tried to improve our project as far as we could in every single detail – that’s what we do since the day 1. The closer you come, I feel the better. The team full of great people is stronger than ever. The riders developed at the same time’.
Beirer then stressed that the Sepang test was proof of the intense pace of development in MotoGP: ‘We were in Sepang just three months ago and then you come back and you have to do a 1m56s to survive. So Brad [Binder] went 0.7s faster than in qualifying, but he was seventh on the list again on that day. You improve 0.7s but that’s not enough, you need to bring more. It’s a constant fight to improve in this class. If you look to what the competitors did last year and you try to catch up to that point you are already in the bottom of the list’.
The director also stated that no detail is lacking in preparation, from the bike to the team, including the riders: ‘It’s really the details. Everything. We try to turn around every stone – electronics, chassis, suspension, engine, how we work on the race track, how we analyze data. That becomes a bigger and bigger topic every year. How quick you can make steps over the weekend, from session to session – that’s something we look at very deeply. But also how can we help the riders to prepare better. So with the Red Bull Training Center, the APC, we work now closer than ever. The riders are daily in contact with the trainers and developing that program. It’s not anymore just go running. Getting a physical condition is like really working on the mental side, reaction times, body, muscles, stretching. So we look at every details and the better we do, the better we can maybe be towards fighting with Ducati’.