KTM “have to be disappointed” with Austrian MotoGP performance

Brad Binder scored two second places in the 2023 Austrian MotoGP weekend across both the Sprint and main race, and so expectations were high for KTM’s home race in 2024.

KTM also arrived to the Red Bull Ring this year having tested with both Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro at the Spielberg circuit during the summer break.

However, the RC16 ultimately proved incapable of matching the Ducati Demsosedici over the course of a race, even the 2023 version of the Bologna bike in the case of Marc Marquez, who finished fourth after dropping to 14th at the start.

“I think in general they have to be disappointed,” Alex Lowes told TNT Sports. “ It’s their home, it’s their track, they’ve done a lot of testing here, [but] Ducati were a clear, big step in front.”

TNT pundit and ex-MotoGP racer Michael Laverty felt that the performance of the Desmosedici was also having a mental impact on Binder, who ended up as the leading KTM on Sunday despite starting 12th.

“[Binder’s] a racer, and it is a little disheartening for everyone when they look at the strength of the Ducati GP24,” Laverty said. 

“One thing we know about KTM, they’re winners, and they don’t look at that as a negative, they look at that gap and they’re just setting their sights on how to reduce that margin, how to be ready in 2025. 

"Whether it’s aerodynamics, engine development, they’ll be just addressing every single component.”

For Laverty, it’s a case of time for KTM to find the improvements needed to challenge Ducati.

“Ducati haven’t got much margin to improve,” he said. “They always find something, obviously, but KTM have the budget, they’ve got the knowhow, it just takes time.

“They’re still relatively new, still not 10-years-old as a MotoGP factory in this championship, so they’re still improving all the time.

“This is Ducati’s [22nd] season in this championship, and they had a big lull before they came [to the position they’re in now], so they deserve their time in the sun right now.”