MotoGP: Gardner and Fernandez, the factory KTM is calling for 2023

KTM is ready for a relaunch in 2022. With the championship just around the corner and team presentations already underway, the Austrian manufacturer has high hopes for the season. Not only with regard to its factory team, but also its Tech3 line-up. Hervé Poncharal’s team will field the two most promising rookies on the grid, Moto2 world champion Remy Gardner and runner-up Raul Fernandez.

Gardner - Fernandez: no shortage of talent

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But will the two young KTM talents prove to be a winning bet? Both have the goods on paper of course. Australian Gardner has recently secured the Moto2 title and let's not forget that Fernandez, second in the 2021 standings, was able to achieve this result in what was his rookie Moto2 season, fighting for the title from start to finish.

This could bode well for him in MotoGP. The Spaniard has shown he is quick to adapt to change and he was immediately quick in initial testing at Jerez despite it being his first outing with the MotoGP bike. Raul is clearly not short on talent. And the same goes for Gardner who, unlike Fernandez, is a more mature rider and can also boast a certain level of experience, having competed in Moto2 for six seasons. This will clearly be useful when it comes to his work in the garage and his approach to the new team.

With so many young riders in its ranks, KTM is spoiled for choice

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We’ve come to understand the KTM strategy over the years, the manufacturer clearly focusing on young riders and all that is new. And so it's equally clear that both Raul and Gardner could also represent the future for the factory team (already in 2023), stepping in to replace Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira. The two factory riders didn’t put together the kind of season that KTM expected in 2021, and so this coming season will be the year of truth. If the pair fail to power the RC16 to the front and round out the year close to the top of the standings, they will have no chance of retaining their rides with the Austrian manufacturer.

With a view to 2023, Beirer himself has said that no one is safe and that KTM will need to either renew or change up its contracts for both the factory squad and the Tech3 team. And the two most likely substitutes for the factory team are of course Gardner and Fernandez. Although Pedro Acosta may also be on the horizon, ready to mix things up and perhaps enter the running for a factory KTM ride already in 2023. The young Spaniard won the Moto3 title in 2021 and will compete in Moto2 in 2022, remaining with KTM (team Ajo). So it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see him in MotoGP in 2023. And the Austrian manufacturer won’t want to lose this kind of rider, though many other teams are already showing a strong interest in him. The KTM strategy is nevertheless clear, and the manufacturer has many young and talented riders in its ranks right now. Binder and Oliveira should take heed, as the pressure is most definitely on.

Translated by Heather Watson

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