EXPERT OPINION Aggressive approach is paying off

You cannot fail to be impressed by KTM’s MotoGP operation. The Austrian manufacturer came into the championship around half a century after Honda and Yamaha, so they’ve learned the game incredibly quickly. In fact they’ve learned so fast they’ve already got the second-best bike in MotoGP!

They’re the only manufacturer with the same aggression as Ducati. They don’t care who they upset, all they are concerned about is winning. That’s why they’ve hired a bunch of Ducati engineers, because that’s the quickest way to get winning technology. Once again, MotoGP is becoming like F1, where teams stealing engineers from rivals has been going on for decades. Racing is more and more a science, which makes engineers more and more important.

Last season KTM benefitted from building a holeshot device that got riders to the first corner even quicker than the Ducatis. They lost that advantage in the second half of the season, but that proved they can not only do things as well as Ducati but sometimes even better.

And their riders are a joy to watch. KTM have adapted the RC16 to make it sidewaysfriendly, so no one gets as crossed up in MotoGP as Brad Binder, who gets faster and more spectacular every year. Jack Miller does the sideways thing too but to a lesser extent. Binder doesn’t just do this for show – it’s about skidding the rear tyre on the brakes to help stop the bike and take load off the over-stressed front slick.

Don’t put too much pressure on Pedro Acosta, who will ride RC16s for the Tech3 GASGAS squad. The Moto2 champ will be 19 when the season kicks off, so has some space to learn. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Next week

Can Yamaha bring Fabio Quartararo and the M1 back to the sharp end of MotoGP?