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KTM Racing director emphasizes geographical proximity for MotoGP success

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Pit Beirer highlights the importance of team location in KTM’s MotoGP development strategy.

Pit Beirer of Austria, KTM Motorsport Director (right), speaks with a journalist under the podium during the MotoGP race at the MotoGP of Spain on April 30, 2023, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Photo by Mirco Lazzari/Getty Images
Pit Beirer of Austria, KTM Motorsport Director (right), speaks with a journalist under the podium during the MotoGP race at the MotoGP of Spain on April 30, 2023, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Photo by Mirco Lazzari/Getty Images

By Randy Ahmad and Yuni Utomo

KTM Racing Director Pit Beirer recently highlighted the importance of geographical proximity between the main team and factory members to accelerate development in MotoGP. As KTM undergoes a restructuring phase following the split with Fabiano Sterlacchini, Beirer explained that a key challenge in maintaining optimal development speed is ensuring that their best team members remain in locations that support efficient collaboration.

In July 2024, KTM made significant changes to its technical team by appointing Wolfgang Felber and Kurt Trieb as heads of the chassis and engine departments. Beirer explained that KTM recruits talent based on their skills and the ideal time to integrate them into the project, without prioritizing a particular nationality. However, he still acknowledged that Italy has many industrial experts who have been part of the KTM project.

"Our industrial base with Ducati and Aprilia is in Italy. If you are looking for European experts, you will often find them in Italy," said Beirer, highlighting the presence of talented Italian employees at KTM.

Geographical proximity as a major factor for success

Despite this change in technical direction, Beirer insists that KTM is not ending the era of Italian technicians, but rather adopting a more strategic approach to harnessing their internal potential.

"They did not meet our expectations, but there came a time when we realised that we needed external knowledge to become more efficient," he added. The main challenge, he said, is to integrate this external expertise without expecting instant change.

In this context, Beirer expressed how important the geographical proximity between the team and the factory is in the highly competitive world of MotoGP.

"MotoGP is very demanding. You can arrive late from a business trip and the next day you have to go back to work with your colleagues. The important thing is that our team lives close to the factory, because this makes us stronger."

Ducati as a successful example

Beirer also compared KTM’s situation to Ducati, which benefits from the geographical proximity of its teams and development facilities.

"This is an advantage that I see at Ducati. Because of their long history in MotoGP and the way they have developed, many of their employees live around the factory. We have to use the same assets because we also have people like that at home," he said in an interview with Speedweek.

Leveraging on its internal strengths, KTM is now focusing on optimizing its development strategy. Beirer emphasized that if key team members were constantly traveling by car or plane, the development speed would decrease significantly. Therefore, KTM is now adopting a more locally-based approach to ensure that innovation can be carried out more quickly and efficiently.

KTM and the vision of the future

Through a strategic vision led by Beirer, KTM continues to look for ways to increase their competitiveness in MotoGP. The Austrian team relies on a combination of technical expertise, geographical proximity, and hard work to achieve success. With this approach, they hope to catch up with rivals such as Ducati and Aprilia and build a stronger foundation for long-term development.

KTM’s approach shows that in the highly competitive world of motorcycle racing, the speed of development depends not only on technological innovation but also on the efficiency of teamwork. By utilizing the talent within their own team, KTM hopes to continue to grow and become one of the main forces in MotoGP. In the future, this strategy will be key for KTM in achieving their ambitious targets in this world championship.

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