A championship tilt is still very much on the table, so Miller teams up with Binder to create a brilliant factory KTM pairing.
With the exception of mainstay Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), 2023 will offer the KTM family new faces, new challenges, and a splash of stunning red paint.
Augusto Fernandez, the current Moto2TM World Champion, and Pol Espargaro, a former rider for KTM and Tech3, will compete for GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 in their first season in the division. Although there is a great balance of youth and experience in that lineup, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo will attempt to steal the show when it comes to competing for race victories and the championship.
There have been several riders who have switched teams or manufacturers for 2023, but Jack Miller moving from Ducati to KTM is among the most fascinating. For the first time since their successful Moto3TM days, the Aussie reunites with KTM and offers a wealth of knowledge.
In the previous two seasons, the four-time premier class race champion stood a total of three times atop the podium. KTM has acquired a rider they are certain is capable of regular podium finishes and, if all falls into place, a title push after Miller emerged as an outside title threat in 2022. The #43 will also transport crucial data from the current Triple Crown winners Ducati.
They have a rider in Binder who is more than capable of taking home a MotoGPTM championship. The South African took home three P2s in Qatar, Japan, and Valencia, respectively, and placed sixth overall in the previous season’s rankings. Expectations were high going into the 2023 preseason that KTM will finally be able to consistently fight for the podium after not having the machine fully dialed in to allow Binder to be one.
For KTM, the first four days of testing were disappointing. With Team Manager Francesco Guidotti affirming that nothing new would be brought to Portimao, both Binder and Miller were occupied testing a variety of new items in an effort to choose a direction. Binder, Miller, Espargaro, and Fernandez spent those final two days modifying the bike to suit their requirements.
Binder didn’t enter the top 10 until the very last day. The #33 said that after a reset on Saturday night, a significant advancement was achieved on Sunday, the last day of testing. There is still work to be done, but for KTM, seeing Binder, who placed ninth overall, feel more at ease and be able to push harder, was encouraging.
Miller, despite finishing in P17, was optimistic about his adaption. He was less than a half second behind his buddy and is aware that the pace will be there with a little more time. By the conclusion of the Portimao Test, Miller’s set-up directing was significantly more successful after “hitting a wall” in Sepang.
So what is in store for KTM in 2023? It’s time to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together and create them a championship-winning team and factory in MotoGPTM. This season, they have it as their main objective, and it makes sense. For the Austrian brand, this year will be enormous.
Information taken from the website – https://www.motogp.com/
