KTM will start building the 2025 MotoGP race bikes on Monday and send them out for preseason tests and the first four rounds of the new season, the company’s MotoGP technical director said.
In a report on Speedweek.com, Wolfgang Felber, who took over development of the RC16 following Fabio Sterlacchini’s move to Aprilia, said that construction will be completed by the third week of January.
The machines will be the evolution and improvement of the 2024 models, and they will be based on the configuration shown in the post-season test in Barcelona.
“As far as the preparation for the new season is concerned, at the moment everything is in a normal way. In recent years we have adjusted all the processes so that we build the new machines in the third week of the year. It will be the same in 2025 – next Monday we will start rebuilding all the motorcycles,” Felber told spreadweek.com.
“Everything arrived in time for the big test in Sepang at the end of the third week. The bikes have been on the road for a long time since then. The vehicles will only arrive at Munderfing for the European season opener in Jerez.
According to the report, eight racing bikes will be built and sent to Malaysia for the Sheik Dash in Seppang, followed by the remaining trials and Grand Prix events in Thailand, Argentina, Texas and Qatar.
“We are clearly talking about an evolutionary model in 2025. There was no question of a new radical approach. In the final tests of 2024, we had a real controversy. The 2025 version worked as intended and the basis was defined. The plan is now to build all the machines with new parts. It is,” says Felber.
Information from bankruptcy proceedings in Austria indicates that KTM plans to withdraw from Grand Prix racing, but not before 2026. KTM has stated that it plans to compete in the 2025 race, although it will reduce spending in a reduced effort. The past. Felber says the competition department is committed to the 2025 effort.
“We are racing. We have our brains, our computers and our motivation. The last thing we think about is giving up,” he said.
