Team launch sees Remy’s 2022 challenge ready to get underway
All routes lead to the Losail International Circuit on March 6th and the sixteenth consecutive year that the Grand Prix of Qatar will open the MotoGP World Championship. 2022 will be only the sixth season that KTM are on the MotoGP grid. Losail, in particular, was the scene of their very first full-time MotoGP appearance in 2016. During that intense learning term the factory was frequently trying to reduce the gap to the peak of the pack. They have since surged to the forefront with five Grand Prix victories and 12 podium appearances in just half a decade.
KTM face 2022 with four factory riders and factory machines thanks to the fourth year of collaboration with the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing Team. Hervé Poncharal’s knowledgeable and decorated outfit will again help to induct two exciting new recruits: Moto2 World Champion Remy Gardner (23-years-old and six career victories) and 2021 runner-up Raul Fernandez (21 and 10 triumphs in two classes). Both riders came through elements of KTM’s GP Academy and Aki Ajo’s fabled set-up in both the Moto2 and Moto3 divisions.
Remy Gardner:
“I am thrilled to start my first season in the MotoGP class. This is the dream of every motorcycle racer and I cannot wait to get started. We already had a few tests in 2021 that were encouraging, so I am very excited to improve myself, continue to discover the bike, and be able to learn about this amazing class with so many talented riders.I am also looking forward to working again with Tech3, getting along with the team, and continuing the relationship with KTM. This is going to be a long,but interesting year. I know it won’t always be easy but I will always push, try and give the best of myself in order to get the best results we can without going too crazy. I will certainly take this season step by step, but I am very excited to start riding again.”