A visit to the Red Bull Ajo Box, which is also written with KTM, but it is one of their usual fraudulent labels. In the case of Moto2, it is a Kalex, on which Remy Gardner rides and Husqvarna and GasGas, on the other hand, are repainted KTM Moto3 bikes.

Exclusive – Remy Gardner receives a MotoGP place at Tech 3 KTM for 2021

On the fringes of the Losail Grand Prix, a novelty leaked through, which had already become apparent when the Australian was signed by KTM. The only motivation of the son of 500 cc world champion Wayne Gardner (in 1987 on Honda) to switch to the oranges was obvious. However, in order to earn the promotion from Moto2 to the premier class, results were required of him. He already delivered this convincingly in Losail. Only Sam Lowes was better than the Red Bull Ajo Kalex newcomer. On the other hand, Iker Lecuona was finally dropped by KTM after the season opener. His commitment after only a second and third place in Moto2 has always been considered highly questionable by experts. But KTM was hoping for a new Quartararo from him and was badly disappointed by the young Spaniard.

Iker Lecuona before the GP in Motorland Aragon, where he got his third top ten result – his time at Tech 3 KTM is probably over and if he doesn’t leave his team-mate Petrucci far behind in the next 2 or 3 races, he will take his place Lose Remy Gardner.

No chance of secrecy – Lecuona has to make way for Gardner in 2021
So after 2 races it became known what those responsible in Mattighofen (The headquarters of the orange in the alpine country) had tried to keep secret. Even if there are still attempts to deny this on the part of KTM, the cheese is already bitten. Of course, we do not disclose our source at this point, but you can rely on it. Opponents and experts had wondered why the Austrians had signed Lecuona and stuck to him despite the lack of success. Many also marveled at how KTM could be so clumsy as to lose three top riders one after the other. It is almost certain that Petrux’s chair will also wobble, but this is not solely the fault of the Italian. Since the loss of Pol Espargaró, the Austrian team in MotoGP has turned back to the backbench squad.

Danilo Petrucci (Tech 3 KTM) – At the first Grand Prix in Losail, the first lap was already over for the likeable northern Italian. If you look at your results, you should also take into account how badly the other KTM riders with one exception (Binder in the 2nd GP in Qatar) have done so far. In addition, Petrux lacks a lot of kilometers after only 4 days of testing. Previously (before the pandemic) there were 12 of them.

Which is why KTM slipped back into third class

At Zarco they had forfeited it when they only heard his suggestions for improvement after he left. Losing Pol Espargaró and Jorge Martin afterwards was simply fatal. In the meantime, one hears a lot of mockery about the oranges behind closed doors. Especially since she had to watch Jorge Martin, one of her junior riders at Pramac Ducati, finish on the podium, of course. Now you can feel sorry for Danilo Petrucci too. Going into a double race on a bike that is completely new to him with only 4 days of testing is more than difficult, as you can see at Pol Espargaró on the Repsol Honda. In addition, everyone can see how badly Oliveira and, with one exception, Binder did in the 2nd race. Nevertheless, things can go up again from Europe and already at the Portugal Grand Prix many things will look different again. While driving in Losail, Dani Pedrosa was testing in Jerez de la Frontera and efforts to improve can be seen.

Remy Gardner (Red Bull Ajo Kalex) – the Australian has his place in the MotoGP for 2021 now for sure. The prerequisite for this were podium places for the Ajo team in Moto2 and with two second places he has already achieved this and can now concentrate on the Moto2 title chase without any pressure.

The provisional MotoGP calendar

Some changes are still to be expected after various overseas races in particular are likely to fall victim to the corona-related travel restrictions. Jerez should be safe so far, but after Le Mans even various races in Europe are at risk. The FIM-EWC endurance event on the Bugatti Circuit, planned 4 weeks before the French Grand Prix, was only postponed indefinitely a few days ago. In addition to Le Mans, Mugello, Sachsenring, Assen and Silverstone are currently particularly at risk. All stations that had already fallen victim to the visitor ban in the previous year.

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