KTM's MotoGP Program On Pause, Comes on the Heels of Near Bankruptcy

There's always money in the banana stand, or so I hear.

Well, maybe that's true if you're a member of the Bluth family, but that's not the case for KTM. If you're a member of KTM, just substitute "MotoGP program" for "banana stand" and you'll more or less have what's happening here. Relax; I kid because I care. I love MotoGP.

Being completely fair, though, think about what you'd do (or have done in the past) if a sudden expense comes up that's cutting it awfully close, and may even be beyond what you know you currently have sitting in your account.

Most of us would check all the usual places we might have money hiding (couch cushions, that birthday card from Aunt Mabel you left sitting in a sad pile somewhere and forgot about until just this minute, the center console in the car you never drive, etc.)  And then, we might think about selling a few things to make up the shortfall, if there's time.

Now, KTM isn't quite at that last point just yet; at least not publicly, anyway. Instead, in a bid to alleviate its nearly three-billion Euro crushing debt load, KTM instituted what it's characterizing as a temporary pause in its MotoGP motorcycle development program for the 2025 season, according to our colleagues at Motorsport.com.

While KTM and Pit Beirer have been adamant that the MotoGP program will continue unabated for 2025, and that all four of its bikes will line up on the grid to start the season, Motorsport.com also says that it "understands that there are doubts in MotoGP promoter Dorna's headquarters about it."

Whether there's anything substantive behind those doubts remains to be seen, but it's not difficult to understand why they might exist. A company isn't a family, but will function similarly in that if the main unit starts to go down financially, it will generally pool resources from its component parts to try to alleviate the situation and hopefully, to steer the ship to calmer waters.

It's not clear how long this pause will last, nor what impact it will have on the team's competitiveness for the coming season. As we've seen repeatedly in recent time, some racers are able to gel so well with machines that aren't on the cutting edge of current MotoGP development that they're impressively competitive.

In 2024, one need only review the season-long campaigns by the likes of Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati), Pedro Acosta (GasGas), and especially current 2024 World Champion Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) to understand that.

We've reached out to Red Bull for comment, too, as the title sponsor has been rumored to acquire the team outright, though that's been denied in the past. But KTM also denied that its insolvency proceedings would affect its MotoGP efforts, too, and well, we wouldn't have written this article had that been the reality of the situation.