The 2021 liveries for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and the fetching all-orange design for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing will add a prominent aesthetic to what will hopefully be another gripping MotoGP contest.
Johannesburg, South Africa (13 February 2021) – On March 28th 2021 MotoGP will tear away from the Losail International Circuit grid and into the Qatari night.
As winners of the final round of 2020, perhaps more eyes will be on the four KTM RC16s that will inhabit rows spots and in the hands of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder (South African, 25) and Miguel Oliveira (Portuguese, 26) and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci (Italian, 30) and Iker Lecuona (Spanish, 21).
The manufacturer will be hoping to surpass their 4th position in the 2020 Constructors Standings and add to their grand total of three Pole Positions, nine podium trophies and three victories in what will be only their fifth season in the MotoGP paddock. The four-bike roster heads the KTM GP Academy: a stream of potential star athletes and machinery that stretches through the support classes of Moto2 and Moto3 and down into talent-spotting initiatives such as the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and the Northern Talent Cup.
The 2021 liveries for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and the fetching all-orange design for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing will add a prominent aesthetic to what will hopefully be another gripping MotoGP contest.
Brad Binder, #33
The rising star has worked his way through the ranks of Moto3, Moto2, and now proving his best in the MotoGP. Binder is the first South African to race MotoGP in the four-stroke era and the first to compete in the premier class since 2000.
“2020, in general, was a season where I feel we achieved a lot, a few good results and obviously with the first victory – or KTM’s first victory – being the main thing. But there were also many days when we had the potential to do so much more. For sure now the margin is a little bit smaller to try and improve but I think as the season went on last year, even though we had a little bit of a slump in the middle, things got better and better. I felt like I was improving not only for the results but in the way approaching the weekends and going session-by-session. At the moment I feel that we have a really, really strong package. We are in a good direction, and I am super-excited to get back on the bike this year.”
Miguel Oliveira, #88
Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer. At the 2015 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Oliveira achieved the first World Championship victory for a Portuguese rider. He currently competes in the MotoGP World Championship for KTM Factory Racing, getting the step up from KTM Tech3, a satellite team, for whom he secured both the team’s and his, first and second win.
“For sure to be world champion you need to have many details together at the same time and for that, depending on how the season is going and what is happening, generally we can find success through the project. Sometimes a 4th place will be a very good result, and sometimes a 2nd place may not fulfil our expectations, but you have to work through that process, and right now, as a start base, I am thinking quite hard to set a bar of results that we can consider as successful. For sure being better than 2020 is already a good start. It is quite a relaxing factor to know that the bike is capable of winning but at the same time you cannot take anything for granted, and when it comes to repeating success, it becomes harder, so I don’t see it as a static job. I think every year you need to bring something ‘up’ on your side to keep a very good level in this championship. I feel I am able to work more on details in a factory team and to at least be more consistent. I think these are the tools that the factory team is going to give me. I have full conviction in my work.”
Danilo Petrucci, #9
Danilo Carlo Petrucci is an Italian motorcycle road racer. He won the Italia Superbike Championship (CIV) in 2011, and who currently competes in the MotoGP World Championship for the KTM Tech3 team.
“It’s my tenth year in MotoGP and to ‘celebrate’ this I will ride for KTM, and I’m very proud of this. Tech3 KTM Factory Racing is one of the most competitive teams we have in MotoGP. Last year they won two races, so I am really happy to race with them. We have all the factory support we need and in a really nice environment. I’m really, really curious to try the bike and get to know the people from the Tech3 team. I want to give some of my experience back to this factory. I know many race situations that can happen during a year, and all the other three riders are all very fast and very competitive. I am the ‘most experienced’, but I want to be faster than them, or I want to fight with them and share our opinion to let the bike grow. In the end, to be satisfied with the season and to make all the KTM people and factory happy: this is the target. To be fast is the thing that matters the most.”
Iker Lecuona, #27
Iker Lecuona Gascón is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He currently competes in the MotoGP World Championship for Tech3 KTM, a satellite-team to KTM Factory Racing.
“This winter, I have been working very hard on my preparation because MotoGP is a very physically demanding class, and you need to be in perfect condition. In 2021 I want to start at the same level that I reached towards the end of the season and then we will see how it goes. Everybody is strong, the level in the category is very high, but my team is working very good, the bike in 2020 has made a big step, and I feel confident to show my best on the track”.
Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM AG Member of the board (CMO) believes that MotoGP is the best platform for global motorsports present at the moment and this is why we wanted to prolong the successful co-operation we’ve had so far for the next five years.
“To win the first MotoGP race in Brno with Brad Binder last summer was one of the most emotional moments of my entire motorsport lifetime and, of course, also for the company. We delivered, and it took away a lot of pressure from us. I don’t know if it happened by accident, but from that time our business on a global scale went through the ceiling. I think the fans enjoyed MotoGP in 2020 but what we really missed were them at the tracks. I hope this year we will get back to something like normal. In general, our short term objective is very clear: we want to finish with our four riders in the top ten regularly and be on the podium regularly. We would like to win another race to really continue with what we have achieved in 2020.”
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