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In 2023 KTM was the second force in the championship, this is what the manufacturers' standings says which placed the Austrian manufacturer only behind the unattainable Ducati. Despite this, the orange bike failed to reach the top step of the podium on Sunday, as it had done in the past. We spoke with Francesco Guidotti about the good and bad points of this season, but also about the future, with the arrival of Acosta and the introduction of the concessions that angered Dall'Igna so much.
“We missed the icing on the cake - Guidotti regrets - We were aiming for an overall and constant improvement and it occurred, a different approach to qualifying and it occurred, with Brad we were in the positions that matter throughout the season, so we got the progress we were looking for. We didn't manage to get a victory, but that doesn't mean we think it was a bad season. We missed out on victory on 3 or 4 occasions, it was within our reach."
In summary, what is the balance of the season?
“We are very satisfied with the path we have taken, with our project in general. I think back to the Jerez race and the top speed record, which doesn't give any points but makes it clear that the direction is the right one. We're still missing something, Miller was crucial at the beginning of the season in providing the information and confirmation we were looking for, but then he lost his way a bit. We have already started talking to him about next season and he understood where to improve."
How will you beat Ducati in 2024? It put 3 riders ahead of everyone and now Marc Marquez has also arrived.
“It is a challenge that must be faced with method and a lot of work. We don't need to look at who we have to beat, but at ourselves, continuing to improve the small details because we are missing very little and we must not be discouraged if the new things do not immediately lead to evident progress. All the small details put together will make the final leap in quality, it will still be quite a long job, we don't expect that one winter will be enough to take the last step, which is the most difficult one. Then we will need to understand how much the others will improve, Yamaha and Honda certainly have a wide margin and Aprilia will be in the game. We must not be too focused on one manufacturer, but on ourselves to give consistent performance to our bike on all circuits so that the riders can be fast as early as Friday. Nowadays, in MotoGP, if you start from the fourth row you're already behind."
"The old concessions needed to be revised, those who attack us did so to maintain their privileges"
The new concessions will shuffle the cards, but it hasn’t gone down well with Ducati. In one of our interviews, Gigi Dall'Igna said that Aprilia and KTM were not correct in wanting to penalize Ducati.
“Gigi, in addition to being a great technician, is also becoming a great communicator, we have a lot to learn from him. I was surprised that he branded us as not correct, I was very disappointed about this and I don't think it's his style. We talk about not being correct when someone does not respect the rules, while we were asked for an opinion and in our opinion it was correct to review this system. The concessions were created years ago and we realized that they needed to be re-examined because they had given someone the opportunity to create a significant gap and others to fall behind and realize it after a year or two. It was something that needed to be revised, so as not to find ourselves in a few years with other manufacturers behind and another one too far ahead."
What is the spirit of the new system?
“With the old concessions you could only recover after a year or a year and a half, while now they seem more balanced. Those who are left behind can realise it and react in six months, while those who are ahead cannot have as much of an advantage as in the past. Having rebalanced a conceptually backward system was not incorrect, but a natural thing to do in compliance with the rules and all the manufacturers involved. It is right that those left behind have the opportunity to react in a relatively short period of time. I don't see any misconduct, if anything only wanting to attack us to maintain privileges which, however they were gained, remain privileges."
One of KTM's problems was being able to rely only on Binder. Miller had changed bikes, Fernandez was a rookie and Espargarò was seriously injured in the first GP.
“We were counting on Brad a lot, but our bike changed and he also had to get used to a quite different ride, he made the leap in quality from Assen onwards. As for Jack, however, I expected him to struggle more at the beginning of the season because after 5 years on another bike you get used to some automatisms. He was probably so motivated and stoked not to regret the choice he made (laughs) that he gave his best. In such a long season you have to manage your energy well and in my opinion he found himself a bit in deficit at the end, even the birth of his first daughter probably distracted him a bit, but we are all very happy with what he brought. It was a huge change for Jack and he spent a lot of energy mentally too, so we let him recover and now we have made a more detailed plan for the winter and the start of next season."
"We are counting a lot on Acosta, but we will all give him the time he needs to adapt to MotoGP"
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta has arrived, and some observers have already dubbed him as the new Marquez. What was your first impression of him?
“He certainly has a really important calling card: in his first year he won the title in Moto3, in the second he was 2nd in Moto2 and in the third he was world champion. These results leave little interpretation about the rider he is, but in MotoGP he will find opponents of his level. He will have to gain experience, but it seems that he is not too afraid of this new adventure. He is certainly an intelligent, light-hearted guy, despite his joker air he is very ‘sensible’. MotoGP is completely different to any other bike, so he will have to get used to it. One day of testing is too little, but he handled the bike well, he crashed which was also appropriate given the conditions, so let's wait before making any comments. We don't want to put pressure on him, but we are all very confident and we will give him the time he needs. He has shown that he adapts very quickly in the other categories and I hope he does so in MotoGP too. He is a young boy on whom we count a lot and he has done his entire career in KTM, like Binder”.
Will you flank him with Pol Espargarò as coach?
“We haven't talked about it, but I think that if he wants to, he can give us a big hand in this field too. For the moment we are happy with Kallio, the RC16 was born with him, and he will help Pedro as he is already doing with Brad and Augusto."
"Bagnaia and Martin will get stronger to beat Marquez"
You also know Bagnaia and Martin well, with whom you worked in Pramac, and Marquez, who you followed at the time of 125s. How do you see the internal challenge between them at Ducati?
“I see a big challenge. Jorge will certainly start with the aim of winning, with a different mentality and will not waste time at the start of the season. Pecco has reached an awareness of his means that will make it difficult to dethrone him, we had chosen him for his determination and his ability to manage difficult moments, as he did when he was very young. Marc needs no introduction and on that bike he will be able to make the difference, but his opponents are aware of this and will become stronger. The only aspect that plays against Marquez is his age, it means more experience and knowledge about himself, but also having little time available to achieve the goals he has set himself. It will be a nice championship."
Could this internal struggle play into KTM's hands?
“We absolutely must not hope for the problems of our opponents, we must be focused on giving our riders what they need to do their part, in the end they are always the ones who make the difference. We shouldn't get distracted, but in any case in my opinion Ducati won't have any internal problems, on the contrary it will be a great battle between them with some outsiders who could cause havoc. However, all this must not distract us from our work and our commitment."
