KTM to make MotoGP debut early at Valencia this year

We had told you how the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team was getting prepped to make a 2017 debut with the recent roll-out of the KTM RC16. But, it seems like we were wrong. KTM is all set to make a wild card entry at the race in Valencia this year.

Earlier, the race bike was put under three days of comprehensive testing at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.  At the time, Pit Beirer, Motorsport Director, KTM went on to thank Alex Hofmann and the entire team for the excellent performance. He also went on to say that the feedback and the fact that they were already able to put in very many laps without any problems gave them a lot of motivation for the next steps in this long journey towards their entry into MotoGP in 2017.

Coming to the most recent development, Mika Kallio and fellow tester Thomas Luthi ran the KTM RC16 alongside its future rivals for the first time during Tuesday's private session at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria. Kallio went on to say, “I think everyone can be really satisfied that we’re here with the others. In the end I think the lap times were on a good level, quite good. We tried to follow the others and see how the bike is behaving and where we are losing compared to them.”

“Around two seconds behind the fastest guys, at the moment it’s quite good. We still have time to work before we come to the Valencia race,” Kallio said, confirming the rumours about KTM’s Valencia race debut.

Similar to Suzuki in 2014, is KTM also using the final race in the season to figure out where they stand in the big league before the 2017 season? We will have to wait and find out.