The KTM team, which will face its sixth season in MotoGP next year, is determined to take a new step forward in its project, which after a successful 2020, when the first victories of its short history came, has been stalled in this last grade. For this they have decided to hire a man with extensive experience in the world championship at the management level and, above all, who works very closely with Ducati, the current reference motorcycle, the until now sports director of the Pramac team.
Francesco Guidotti , who had also dreamed of taking the role of Team Manager at Suzuki in 2022, will arrive at KTM in place of the hitherto chief technical officer, Mike Leitner , who will leave the Mattighofen -based organization, as the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta .
Leitner came to KTM after an extensive career at Honda-HRC , where he excelled in his role as Dani Pedrosa’s track engineer. The Austrian technician was captured by the orange brand to lead the landing in MotoGP, taking the RC213V model as the starting point for his RC16 prototype.
However, the tables have turned on the MotoGP grid and the bike that right now sets the benchmark at a competitive level is the Ducati, hence the orange manufacturer’s interest in an executive who knows the bike and the work method of the Borgo Panigale house, since Guidotti, who will take over as Team Manager, will arrive together with an engineer from the Italian house.
In 2022 KTM will have two teams on the grid that, at least initially, will have the same material, the most experienced official box with Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira, and the Tech3 line-up made up of two debutant riders, the Moto2 champion and runner-up this year, Remy Gardner and Raúl Fernández , respectively.
Francesco Guidotti, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
