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Pit Beirer is trying to predict the future, both on and off the track. KTM's motorsport director is not afraid to say he is aiming for the MotoGP title and, at the same time, reveals his ideas for the future of the championship.
Let's start with the races: “Of course everyone is going crazy to catch Ducati, which is doing a wonderful job. There is no strategy to achieve this, only improving our project. We have a stronger team than ever, but, as we saw in Sepang, now we need to do 1m56s to survive - he smiled - Brad improved his qualifying time from a few months ago by 7 tenths, but it wasn't enough. It's a continuous fight, it's a question of details, everything needs to be improved: the bike, the working method, helping the riders train better like we do at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre. Our aim? We finished the riders’ championship in 4th place, so aiming for the podium is realistic. But I can't be happy just because of this, we want to fight for the championship."
To achieve this, KTM is pushing hard on the development and opening up to new collaborations, including the one with the Red Bull Formula 1 team for the aerodynamics.
“This is a new dimension for everyone, and you have seen the many innovations that each manufacturer brought to Sepang - explained Pit - We started the collaboration with Red Bull F1 because aerodynamics is no longer just about going faster in a straight line. It allows you to have more traction, less wheelie, help braking and cornering, it works all the time. There have been crazy developments over the last couple of years and we are happy that Red Bull has opened its doors for us. They help us speed up the process of evolution, it's exciting, but we must be careful not to go too far. I believe we will have to limit aerodynamics before 2027."
That is the year in which the new technical regulations, which manufacturers have been discussing for some time, will come into play.
“I can’t speak for the others, but we are close to an agreement to limit aerodynamics from 2027, and I'm talking about the dimensions of the various appendages - revealed Beirer - We will go in that direction, and I think it's good to give more importance to the rider and not to the wind when riding. So, the new regulations will see this limitation and as KTM we have also requested the removal of the lowering devices. Furthermore, there will be a reduction in engine performance, which is not what we want, but we are now in favour of decreasing the displacement to increase safety. MotoGP will at least take a step back compared to now."
Another of KTM’s desires is to reduce the number of Grands Prix on the calendar.
“Twenty-one is too many, the number of races is at the limit and as a group we would prefer to have fewer, as I have already said in the past. But we like the Sprints, they make the race weekend better. We must just be careful about the stress they bring to the teams and riders” he underlined.
Speaking of riders, it's impossible not to talk to Beirer about Acosta.
“I saw what all of you guys saw: He just stepped in and did fantastic things – was his comment – Every day he became better and better and better during all the six days. Showing a lap time at the end which is two-tenths faster than the pole position at the end of last year. So the level where he steps into this class is really, really high. Everybody talked about him, how many records he had broken in the other classes, how young he is. But then it's still of course always interesting to see what actually happens when you move from Moto2 to MotoGP. Things can go better than expected, but they can also become really difficult. But he's just amazing.”
At this point, the only problem could be the disruption caused by Acosta if he were to be faster than his more experienced brand mates.
“If Brad is on the podium and Pedro goes faster, I think we will manage the problem! – joked the manager - But anyway, I think also we should not make too much pressure now for this boy because he's still young and coming into the class. Nothing is better for us than like good competition within the four riders, pushing each other. So I really hope this becomes our biggest problem.”
