MotoGP: KTM out to challenge for title by 2020

Red Bull KTM racer Pol Espargaró says that his new Austrian team have made it quite clear to him that their goal in the premiere class is to be challenging for the MotoGP title in only three years’ time, despite joining the series only one round ago in Qatar.

Already a factory with a reputation for winning at just about every class they’ve tried their hand at, it remains a lofty goal considering their current bottom-of-the-grid performances – something that Espargaró is well aware of!

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“KTM have said that they want to be fighting to win the title in three years. For me that looks so difficult and almost impossible, but I’m going to trust them. I’m here to fight for winning races and they’ve tried it in all the areas so why not in MotoGP? I don’t know, life is made for the adventures, so let’s try it. The development of the bike is so fast, you cannot imagine what’s going to happen in the middle of the season. I don’t know, I’m hoping to be fighting for the points as soon as possible. It’s going to be difficult but I trust in KTM.”

However, he’s also admitted that while there’s a big task ahead of him, he feels like he’s made the right move after losing out on a similar opportunity a few years ago.

“Some years ago, in Moto2, I was playing and fighting with some riders that now are winning races and is a little bit frustrating because I think and I know that I can do it, but I couldn’t where I was. KTM comes into this MotoGP world with a very good project together with Red Bull, they offered it me and I said: ‘Yes. This is what I want, this is where I want to go.’ After my first year in Tech3 in Yamaha I had the opportunity to jump on a Suzuki and I said, ‘No, I want to stay in Yamaha’.

“After what my brother did, after what Maverick did and after what happened in Suzuka I said, ‘I made the wrong choice’. When KTM appeared, I said ‘OK, I don’t know if it’s going to be the same at Suzuki, better, worse… but for sure it’s a factory and they have this spirit of winning.”

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