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KTM is probably in much worse shape than most of you think, both in AMA, MXGP and even financially. Let me explain it…
· Financially they’ve been dropping a ton of money into MotoGp with very little return if at all as they don’t make a proper fast bike and none of their models are segment leaders to say the least. I don’t get why they’re there or why they’ve decided their secondary team should be painted red (yes, Gas Gas’ Austrian-controlled corpse now has a MotoGp team).
· In MXGP they keep blocking Jorge Prado’s ambitions of switching to AMA competitions. His original schedule was to change continents after his MX2 title but Herlings gets injured every year plus there’s no other rider they seem to trust or want to hire. While Rene Hofer’s tragic death while freeskiing probably didn’t help, Guadagnini’s evolution should’ve opened the door for the move but then they went with Frederick Vialle’s son instead, a betrayal so big it might make the Spaniard fly out the door and into some American arms.
· In AMA Supercross/Motocross they’ve been struggling with the recent model, Max Vohland isn’t evolving much and they somehow decided that a marketing move like hiring Aaron Plessinger and putting all the eggs into Cooper Webb was reasonable. The ready-to-race brand decided that they should hire a fun guy, like that’s not gonna give some tonal whiplash…
At one point I thought DeCoster was becoming the Joe Biden of AMA team managers but it’s clear the problem comes from higher up, it’s way more rooted than it’s safe. Will they snap out before they go the way of Suzuki? I’m genuinely concerned, I still remember following the Enduro World Championship 20 years ago and seeing KTM winning 4 out of 5 engine classes, then going 1-1-1 when they unified them into 3.
PS: The Xbow GT4 also probably deserves a mention as it probably cost them a pretty penny to develop and it’s illegal in all GT4 competitions worth a damn because of the real Xbow not being produced and/or sold enough.
I have no idea if the state of the company is that bad, I wouldn’t assume so. But they have made some questionable decisions lately. I also didn’t understand to MotoGP thing. I just dont see what they are gaining with that effort.
I don’t know much about any of the others besides AMA sx/mx and MXGP, but they do seem really reluctant to make any new hires. Webb was thinking retirement back in the summer which I believe tells a little about the work environment and the new bike. That 250 program has been atrocious… and I can’t for the life of me understand why a team would make Dungey a huge offer to ride SX but not be trying to snag Roczen after Dungey turned it down?? I understand Dungey’s loyalty to DeCoster is worth it for them, but did Kenny really burn the bridge that bad when he left for RCH? It would also be super awkward for Roczen and Webb to be teammates but if you have the money to offer Dungey then why not try to sign Kenny to GasGas or Husky?
I don’t know much about any of the others besides AMA sx/mx and MXGP, but they do seem really reluctant to make any new hires. Webb was thinking retirement back in the summer which I believe tells a little about the work environment and the new bike. That 250 program has been atrocious… and I can’t for the life of me understand why a team would make Dungey a huge offer to ride SX but not be trying to snag Roczen after Dungey turned it down?? I understand Dungey’s loyalty to DeCoster is worth it for them, but did Kenny really burn the bridge that bad when he left for RCH? It would also be super awkward for Roczen and Webb to be teammates but if you have the money to offer Dungey then why not try to sign Kenny to GasGas or Husky?
I think Kenny would be off the table because he would also want to do WSX. And just like HRC, KTM/Hus/GG is not going to support that effort, so there is no point going after him.
I don’t know much about any of the others besides AMA sx/mx and MXGP, but they do seem really reluctant to make any new hires. Webb was thinking retirement back in the summer which I believe tells a little about the work environment and the new bike. That 250 program has been atrocious… and I can’t for the life of me understand why a team would make Dungey a huge offer to ride SX but not be trying to snag Roczen after Dungey turned it down?? I understand Dungey’s loyalty to DeCoster is worth it for them, but did Kenny really burn the bridge that bad when he left for RCH? It would also be super awkward for Roczen and Webb to be teammates but if you have the money to offer Dungey then why not try to sign Kenny to GasGas or Husky?
I think Kenny would be off the table because he would also want to do WSX. And just like HRC, KTM/Hus/GG is not going to support that effort, so there is no point going after him.
Ah, makes sense.
The WSX really put a kink in Kenny’s chain in signing with many teams.
I saw Dean Wilson mention that he thought KR was planning on doing AMA SX and MX next year. It’s all just so confusing lol.
We should know something very soon.
The WSX really put a kink in Kenny’s chain in signing with many teams.
I saw Dean Wilson mention that he thought KR was planning on doing AMA SX and MX next year. It’s all just so confusing lol.
We should know something very soon.
Stefan Pierer has a net worth of $1.3 billion. But yeah, some rando on an Internet forum knows more than he does.
They just signed Chase Sexton because Webb and Plessinger were such a good pair…
PS: Rich people go broke all the time, big multi-billion dollar companies also go under
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