Where is the departing satellite Yamaha team going, after the shock announcement last week that they were splitting with Yamaha? Tech 3 team boss Herve Poncharal didn’t actually mention the initials KTM, in a telephone interview with Dorna – but he effectively confirmed that the rumours were true.
Having earlier spoken about having received an offer that was too good to refuse, he now said that the factory he was joining “had entries in Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP”, offering a career ladder to riders. Only KTM fills that brief.
He added that he had a three-year deal with the promise of full factory-level bikes for two riders, rather than the second-hand second-string equipment he has had with Yamaha.
His decision to end a 20-year association with Yamaha, 18 as the satellite MotoGP team, had several dimensions, including the desire for a fresh challenge. But the presence of potential superstar Zarco was also a major spur.
After Zarco had been on the podium at the last two races, and close to winning in Valencia, “everyone expected something special would be coming for him from Yamaha, and it didn’t come.”
While his 2016 chassis was good enough for top time today, “I always said that something was wrong if Zarco did not have a full factory bike in 2019, and it wasn’t going to happen with Yamaha.” He did not have a deal in place to keep Zarco after the end of this season, but he was in a position at least to tempt him to stay.
While “the bikes” (ie: KTM) were not yet fully competitive, the important thing was that his team would be directly involved with development, and they would get evolution parts during the season.
By Michael Scott
Zarco, Malaysian MotoGP 2017