KTM going astray – here Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), of all things, at his home race in the gravel. No works team, not even Aprilia with just one established top rider in the person of Aleix Espargaró, is currently doing as badly as Red Bull KTM. Even worse with the red lantern to Tech 3 KTM.

Thanks to the corona pandemic – the relegation is spared the oranges

We remember the break last winter well. The Austrians had used ice-cold in the 2020 season due to their test advantages due to the early lifting of the lockdown. Except for the victory in the season finale, which was favoured by the home advantage of Miguel Oliveira, the oranges had achieved enormous successes above all on the tracks on which they had previously tested extremely intensively, as in the example of Brno, Spielberg and Misano. Especially next to Aprilia exclusive and even much earlier than the Italians and always supported by the standard tire manufacturer Michelin. Actually, they were the only ones who knew the secrets of the new compounds during the first few laps and already knew in advance which of them would work optimally under the various conditions with which setup. Except for the start in extreme heat in Jerez, they were ahead of all opponents in the first laps.

Danilo Petrucci (Tech 3 KTM) in the gravel – except for the chaos race with bike change in Le Mans, the likeable northern Italian had a miserable start to the season. After 5 laps, “Petrux” is only 16th in the World Championship. This is of course a disaster for the Ducati factory rider from 2019 and 2020 as the two-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner.

The hard landing after flying high
Already in Misano, Pol Espargaró was on the podium in the 2nd race only because of a questionable subsequent punishment of Fabio Quartararo by the FIM, after the Catalan had actually seen the chequered flag in P4. Before that, 10th place on the first weekend was the best result of a KTM rider. In Barcelona, ​​where the oranges had never tested before as the only track in 2020, the crash followed and none of them made it into the top ten. The same was true in the first race in Aragon, after which things were looking up again before Oliveira’s home win. Afterwards, KTM was even looking forward to the loss of the so-called “concession status”, but this enthusiasm about it should now have evaporated. Without Pol Espargaró and the test advantage, the oranges usually seem quite helpless at the moment, unless it is raining. So it’s an irony of fate: Thanks to the corona pandemic, KTM had their first victories and for the same reason they are now spared relegation. This is the regulation that was decided by FIM, Dorna and IRTA.

Pol Espargaró (Repsol Honda) was still decried as a loudmouth in orange at KTM – but without his support the Austrians now seem completely helpless and disoriented. His participation and the benefit of the Corona advantages and the concession status made their high-altitude flight possible in 2020. Now the people from the Factory in Mattighofen have returned to the backbench team, but they are spared relegation to the “B-League”.

Hervé Poncharal in January 2021: “KTM will have a lot of fun in 2021”

The IRTA President announced this shortly after the beginning of the year, and it cannot be assumed that he was still intoxicated several days after the New Year. After five laps, his team wears the red lantern, this to the hard facts of the formerly very successful team boss from France. We also remember well when Pit Beirer, the head of sport at KTM, said on the record last winter that “there is no step to the world title”. We found this symbolism of the language used by a paraplegic sitting in a wheelchair a bit confusing at the time. Either way, it looks at least more like a long march at the moment than just a single step. Before Le Mans, the oranges were even in the last place in the brand classification. Against this background, the sayings of Poncharal and Beirer a few months ago seem, of course, completely grotesque. Below is the reality in numbers.

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