KTM Motorsports Director Reflects On 2024 MotoGP Season Amid Financial Turmoil

Saajan Jogia | Jan 3, 2025

Apr 13, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Brad Binder (33) of South Africa and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rides during practice for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer has reflected on the team’s 2024 season amid financial challenges and a speculated shutdown of the MotoGP project. KTM delivered a strong performance in 2024, finishing second in the Constructors' Championship. Only Ducati, with victories in all but one Grand Prix, achieved a better season on paper.

Speaking on a year riddled with ups and downs, Beirer accepted the situation and congratulated Ducati for its dominance. He told MotoGP.com, as reported by Crash.net:

“I have to be honest, our expectations have been a bit higher, especially for Brad [Binder] and Jack [Miller], but we’ve had our ups and downs. We had a really difficult summer, but at least we managed to stabilize the situation and get some decent results.

“Looking back now, we’ve had six [Sprint] podiums on Saturday and six [Grand Prix podiums] on Sunday. We’re the second-best manufacturer, so that’s great.

“But, of course, we thought we’d be closer to the Ducati guys, who have done another fantastic job this year. We have to congratulate them for what they’re doing out there, but we still keep fighting, charging, and learning.

“We feel we’re getting closer again and have received some really good feedback from Brad and Pedro [Acosta] lately.

“But I still want to look at the glass as half full, not half empty, and I feel we’re in a good position from a sporting perspective looking towards next season, with the new riders on board. We’ve learned a lot more about our bike in the past few weeks, and that’s important.”

While there has been improvement at KTM, its dry run extends from the 2022 Thai Grand Prix that was won by Miguel Oliveira. In terms of the sprint race, KTM's last win goes back all the way to the Spanish GP in 2023. Revealing when KTM began to drop performance last year, former team principal Francesco Guidotti said:

“We started very well, with some podiums with some different riders and the expectation was really high.

“From mid-season on, we struggled a little bit, some directions that maybe weren’t the best ones for us; the main contenders made a little improvement but made the gap even bigger.

“We had a moment in mid-season a little bit strange, so I think it’s where we lost the chance to stay close to the top.”

He added:

"We missed too many options, too many chances in the beginning of this year, and then you miss the game, you lose the game.”