Month: February 2017

The Red Bull KTM Ajo family continues to grow in 2017, and the ambitious new Moto2 project for the team was officially presented on Monday in Austria. The intermediate class bikes and riders joined those in the Moto3 and MotoGP class for an unveiling of what to expect over the coming months. Riders in the Moto2 class Brad Binder –current Moto3 World Champion with Red Bull KTM Ajo– and Miguel Oliveira –Moto3 World Championship runner-up in 2015– pulled the covers off the new machine.

The strength of the relationship between Red Bull, KTM and Ajo Motorsport was apparent in the event. After years of working together, they have been able to obtain great results based on hard work, effort and confidence in young riders. For the coming season, Red Bull KTM Ajo will seek to establish themselves among the Moto2 frontrunners and successfully take over from where reigning World Champion Johann Zarco left off.

From February 27th through to March 1st, the Red Bull KTM Ajo team will debut the new livery for their bike at Jerez. They previously had a positive test in Valencia, where Miguel Oliveira was the fastest rider in the class.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager: "First of all, I am very proud to be part of this project with KTM and Red Bull. It is incredible and I am very grateful to be here. Every season is different, and especially this year as we are beginning a new challenge in Moto2. We are starting practically from zero and it will be difficult to win races from the beginning, but of course, it is our target and we will work hard to achieve it. We have two very good riders. I also want to thank the partners for their presence, which makes all this possible."

#44 Miguel Oliveira: "It was very exciting to see the bikes with the new livery for the first time. We are all very excited about the start of the season and the debut of the new colours. I am very happy to be returning to the Red Bull KTM Ajo family; it is always an honor to be part of this project together with KTM. I hope that all this determination and enthusiasm is translated into results, which in the end is what we are all looking for. We’re going to start out strong."

After a two month break, the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia welcomed the new Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 project for testing this week. Miguel Oliveira was the only one of the two riders back onboard his KTM, however, since reigning Moto3 World Champion Brad Binder remains sidelined with an injury in his left arm. He was replaced for the two-day test by Ricky Cardus. Oliveira was the fastest rider on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Strong gusts of wind and a poor track surface early in the day made it a difficult return to work for the intermediate class riders in Valencia. Oliveira, who set a 1:37.162 top time on Wednesday, was able to make the most of more favourable conditions on Thursday to lower his best lap to 1:35.887. Rather than focusing on hot laps, the Portuguese was looking to regain his feel for the bike and try out new setups. He put in a total of 129 laps over the course of the test.

Binder will again undergo a medical examination in two weeks’ time, in order to assess whether he will be fit to join Oliveira for testing at the Jerez Circuit later this month.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

"It was a shame that Brad [Binder] couldn’t be here, after injuring his hand and undergoing two operations. The goal is for him to be back in time for the Jerez test. Once again, Miguel [Oliveira] has demonstrated his professionalism, gathering a lot of useful data during these two days in Valencia with the new KTM Moto2 bike."

#44 Miguel Oliveira

"We’ve had two days of hard work and a lot of laps, especially today because the temperature was ideal for riding and there was much less wind than yesterday. We did a very good job and were able to test a lot of things, focusing on improving the rear of the bike. We didn’t look for a fast lap and instead did some race preparation with used tyres. The setting for the shock has changed, although this was something we had already taken into account. At Jerez, a very different circuit to this one, we will be able to try softer tyres and continue working on the rear. We already have many ideas in mind for what we want to test there."