KTM To Make Its Moto2 Debut In 2017 Season

The KTM and WP Suspension-developed bike will race in the 2017 season of Moto2, powered by Honda CBR600RR engines.

We got to know in February this year that KTM is working on a race bike to make its debut in MotoGP. But after that, the Austrian automaker has stayed quiet on the development process of the project, till now. Now, Stefan Pierer, the CEO of KTM has confirmed that they are “ready to race” in the Moto2 class in the 2017 season.

The KTM boss confirmed the Moto2 debut to German motorsport media house SpeedWeek, and delivered some other details as well. He said that the new racing team will be headed by Aki Ajo, a former racer who is leading Ajo Motorsport team currently. Ajo Motorsport is a Finnish team that competes in Moto2 and Moto3 classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix and Spanish and European championships.

KTM is developing its Moto2 bike with WP Suspension, and the riders will be Brad Binder and Tom Luthi. Binder is a Moto3 class racer who is currently riding for the Red Bull Team and leading the 2016 season with a margin of 47 points. Luthi is a Moto2 class rider, having six race victories to his name, and is currently 4th in the running season.

Honda is the official engine supplier for the Moto2 class and provides the CBR600RR's inline 4 motor for all the Moto2-class race bikes. So, KTM has to tune its rival's engine and build a chassis around it for both the 2017 and the 2018 seasons as the engine supplier will be changed after that. Moto2 will be needing a new engine supplier from 2019 onwards. And it could be an interesting bit if we relate it to KTM's entry in this class of Grand Prix. However, Pierer said that there are no such plans for a complete KTM-powered Moto2 race bike for now. But, as the saying goes, never say never. If it happens, we can also expect an Austrian middleweight supersport road bike as well.