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KTM have finally found a solution to their rider line up problem for 2020. Today, the Austrian factory announced that they will be taking Brad Binder directly into the factory Red Bull KTM team, to race alongside Pol Espargaro, while they have signed Iker Lecuona to race in the Red Bull KTM Tech3 satellite squad opposite Miguel Oliveira.

This is something of a shake up to KTM's original plans, caused by the early departure of Johann Zarco. The Frenchman's decision to leave the Austrian factory at the end of 2019 (accelerated to after Misano by KTM's decision to drop him from Aragon onward) left them with a puzzle to solve.

With almost everyone with MotoGP experience tied up for 2020, and most Moto2 riders holding on for 2021, when the entire MotoGP grid is out of contract, finding a replacement for Zarco was almost impossible. They had already signed Brad Binder to the Tech3 satellite team, and had few options to choose from. 

They ended up doing something of an internal reshuffle. Binder has been promoted from the Tech3 team to the factory squad, while Lecuona will be moving up to to the Tech3 MotoGP team, instead of riding in Moto2 with the Ajo squad, as he was signed to do.

These moves are all part of a delicate balancing act. After Zarco announced he would be leaving at the end of 2019, KTM promised Tech3 boss Hervé Poncharal that they wouldn't poach Miguel Oliveira from him. Taking Binder instead of Oliveira is a way around that dilemma, and putting the 19-year-old Lecuona in the Tech3 team gives Poncharal another young and exciting rookie. 

There was the minor obstacle of Lecuona already having signed a contract for 2020, but fortune had it that the Spaniard had signed for the Ajo team, currently racing with KTM in Moto2, and still affiliated with KTM despite the Austrian manufacturer's decision to withdraw from Moto2 in 2020. Moving Lecuona up means that Ajo will have to find a replacement for Moto2, but they are recruiting internally. 

There had been a number of names linked to the KTM factory MotoGP ride, with former KTM rider and current Aprilia tester Bradley Smith a prominent candidate. But KTM have decided to gamble on youth over experience, turning down Smith, along with other rumored contacts with veterans such as Alvaro Bautista. 

There are two reasons to go for young riders over experienced riders. The first is that younger riders are less set in their ways, and fewer ingrained habits or expectations to unlearn. In theory, that should allow them to adapt to the rough-and-ready KTM RC16, a bike that needs a very physical style to ride. 

The second is that they are hoping to capture lightning in a bottle in the same way that the Petronas team have with Fabio Quartararo. The MotoGP paddock and team managers are just as susceptible to fads and fashions as everyone else, and with the current feeling that a generation is passing, to be replaced by a younger generation coming into MotoGP, it can sway the decision toward youth over experience.

Binder in the factory team and Oliveira in Tech3 sets up a fascinating battle for the factory seats in 2021. So far, Pol Espargaro has ruled the KTM roost, the RC16 suiting the Spaniard's physical style down to the ground. But Oliveira has shown flashes of real speed on the KTM, and promises to be competitive on the bike once he recovers from the shoulder injury he picked up at Silverstone, where he was taken out in a crash by Johann Zarco. 

Espargaro will be 29 at the beginning of the 2021 season, and if Oliveira improves as much as KTM hope, they may decided to keep the Portuguese rider over the Spaniard. Alternatively, they could throw more factory resources at Oliveira in the Tech3 team, and strenghten his challenge. Oliveira's RC16 is already very close in spec to the factory bikes of Pol Espargaro and (now) Mika Kallio, and as KTM are picking up a large part of Tech3's tab, they could easily increase the support they give the Portuguese rider.

KTM will probably have to do that for 2020 anyway. With Zarco gone, and two rookies among four riders, the development will rest largely on the shoulders of Pol Espargaro and Miguel Oliveira, as the only two riders with MotoGP experience. Dani Pedrosa will continue to bear the bulk of the test work, and define the direction of the bike, but Espargaro and Oliveira will be the final arbiters at the track. As Espargaro has a very specific, physical style, it is easy to see that Oliveira will have a key role to play in making the bike a little less tailored to Espargaro's riding style.

With the signing of Binder and Lecuona, the 2020 grid is now complete, in theory at least. Rumors persist over the position of Jorge Lorenzo at Repsol Honda, but the noises coming out of Japan from HRC top brass were that they will keep the five-time world champion for 2020, and make a decision about the future next year, when Silly Season kicks off in earnest, and when everyone is out of contract and available.

The press release from KTM appears below:

Red Bull KTM MotoGP line-up confirmed for 2020

MotoGP announcement

Red Bull KTM will field former world champion and class rookie Brad Binder alongside Pol Espargaro for 2020 MotoGP. The South African’s saddle, initially planned at Red Bull KTM Tech3, will be taken by Spaniard Iker Lecuona.

KTM have decided to invest and trust in the racing instincts of two MotoGP debutants for 2020 and for the next development phase of the factory RC16.

Brad Binder’s impressive progress through Moto3 and Moto2 divisions meant the 24-year old was well on the road to a premier class saddle for 2020 but with a slot opening in the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team Binder has been placed next to Pol Espargaro for his first term.

Iker Lecuona, who has taken Moto2 podium honours in both 2018 and 2019, had been signed for a Moto2 ride in 2020. The 19-year old has now been promoted to the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP effort alongside Miguel Oliveira.

Four riders, three nationalities and three athletes below the age of 25 means KTM are now set for their fourth year of MotoGP participation.

Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “It was clear that our plans for 2020 needed to change following our mid-season announcement. After some thought and talks we decided to move in this direction and let the young, hungry guys with good experience in the other categories of MotoGP show us what they can do. Brad is a rider that has made his way through the KTM structure and we have no doubt whatsoever that he can walk into the Red Bull KTM team and keep showing that same style and never-give-up attitude we have seen for a long time. Iker comes into the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team and we’re super-confident that Hervé and his guys will be able to help and develop another rookie like they have done so well with Miguel this year. We know we are making good and exciting steps with our MotoGP project and with next season now fixed we can really start building up to this new chapter.”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “I’m super-happy with the duo we have for 2020. We had a long discussion about it but finally I think it is a good decision that KTM made. In Pol we have a very strong rider who has made good results for us and we’ve seen in the other categories what Brad is capable of with our bikes. He is one of the young kids that has come through the rank. It will be a big challenge for him but I think he will have a great future in MotoGP.”

Hervé Poncharal, Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Principal: “My feeling is that this is the strongest 2020 KTM line-up we could have hoped for. We want to have four riders with talent, passion, will and that they will stick to the project. Personally I am happy to work with a young and talented rookie like Iker. This is the way to go for the future and we have seen that the same approach has brought some success to other teams. Let’s start working on 2020: we have the technical support and we have the right people onboard. I believe we will take a big step next year with both Miguel in his second year and Iker keen to show us what he can do.”

Sylvain Guintoli has been disqualified for the FP1 and FP2 sessions of the Motegi MotoGP round, after having been found to have used an illegal spec of engine. As a result, all of his times set in FP1 and FP2 have been scrapped, and Guintoli listed as having set no time. Guintoli does still qualify for Q1, having set a time within 107% of the fastest rider in FP3.

The punishment came after Sylvain Guintoli used a prototype of the 2020 Suzuki GSX-RR during his third wildcard appearance. That is in contravention of the rules, specifically rule 2.4.6.2, which states that wildcards must abide by the engine specification rules which apply to all manufacturers. In the case of Suzuki, who are not a concessions team, and so are not allowed to change engine specifications during the season, this means that Guintoli is bound to use the same specification of engine for the whole 2019 season.

But there is some ambiguity in the rules, especially as they apply to wildcards. Each manufacturer is also allowed to run 3 different engine specifications in each season, to allow them to supply satellite teams with different engine specs to the factory squad. And wildcard riders are allowed to use three engines of the same specification at each race, effectively freeing them from the restrictions on the number of engine used by full-time riders in the season.

If this had happened last year, Guintoli would not have been punished. Suzuki was a so-called concessions team during the 2018 season, after failing to score a single podium through 2017. That allowed Guintoli as wildcard to use different engine specs throughout 2018. But after their successful season in 2018, where Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone scoring 9 podiums between them, Suzuki lost their concessions and were stuck with a single engine specification for the entire season for each rider.

The punishment for Suzuki is not because they used a 2020-spec engine, but because the engine spec differs from the one used by Guintoli earlier in the season. If the same thing had happened to Aprilia or KTM, for example, they would not have been punished, as they are allowed to change engine specs as concession teams.

Today, the Grand Prix Commission officially announced further restrictions on testing for the MotoGP class. Those restrictions were published last month on MotoMatters.com, including the news that the Brno and Valencia tests are to be dropped in 2020, with further reductions in 2021.

The idea is that as the calendar expands from 20 races next year to 22 in 2022, testing is reduced to reduce the workload and stress on the riders and teams. In 2020, there will still be two tests in February, at Sepang and Qatar before the season starts, and Monday tests after the Jerez and Barcelona races. 

The Brno test will be dropped, however, as it made for a very short week between the Brno and Spielberg rounds of MotoGP, especially for the crews who have to tear down and build up the hospitalities and garages before and after each race. 

Instead, there will be a two-day private test at Misano in September, as there was in 2019. The private test will allow the factories a modicum of privacy, keeping journalists and photographers out of pit lane.

The new schedule starts in earnest at the end of 2020. The traditional post-season test at Valencia has been dropped, the riders getting three days off instead, before reconvening in Jerez for two days of testing. The Valencia test was widely disliked, by everyone except the fans. With just one day of after a punishing season, engineers felt that the feedback from the riders tended to be imprecise and woolly, and of very limited use.

A gap of three days looks like being a compromise. Three days away from bikes should give riders a chance to recover and recuperate a little, while also giving the teams a slightly longer winter break. 

In 2021, the test at Qatar will be dropped completely, with just the traditional Sepang test before the season kicks off. In-season testing will likely follow the same pattern as 2020, with two tests on a Monday, and a private two-day test.

The changes will be particularly welcomed by the satellite teams. The private teams receive financial support from Dorna to compete, but they only get that support for races, and not for tests. Going testing costs money, and any reduction in out of season testing saves them money. 

Though the new testing program has met with some resistance from factories, they were eventually willing to accept it. The reduction in testing in previous years has put an emphasis on the factory test teams, with factories taking their lead from Ducati, and hiring much faster riders to help develop the bikes. For the Japanese factories, especially, this has been a change, using ex-Grand Prix riders to test, rather than relying on the Japanese test riders who were often three or more seconds a lap slower than the factory riders.

The change does mean that the fans will have to wait to see the new riders on new bikes as they change teams. Instead of staying on in Valencia to see the test, they will have to wait until the Thursday and either keep an eye on the official MotoGP.com website or fly down to Jerez for a glimpse of the riders swapping bikes. With some major changes expected in 2021, flights to Jerez may well prove to be popular.

Below is the press release from the FIM on the new  testing restrictions.

FIM Grand Prix World Championship
Decision of the Grand Prix Commission

The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Paul Duparc (FIM), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in an electronic meeting held on 7 October 2019, made the following decision:

Sporting Regulations

MotoGP CLASS – TEST RESTRICTIONS

With the introduction of additional events in the Grand Prix calendar, the MotoGP class teams have been examining ways to offset the additional workload on riders and team staff by reducing the number of tests.

Agreement was reached between the teams to propose cancellation of the November 2020 test after the Valencia GP and the traditional March 2021 test prior to the Qatar GP.

The proposal was approved by the GPC and will become effective in the regulations from Season 2020, which starts the day after the 2019 Valencia GP.

Implementation of the new regulations will result in the following programme of MotoGP class tests:

SEASON 2020 (STARTING 18 NOVEMBER 2019)

SEASON 2021 (STARTING 16 NOVEMBER 2020)

On dates to be confirmed when 2021 calendar is known:
Possible three-day, pre-season test at Lombok, Indonesia if circuit is in 2021 calendar.
Two of one-day official tests on Mondays after events. Circuits to be confirmed.
Two-day official test at a circuit to be confirmed – probably Misano.

2022 promises to see a major shakeup of the MotoGP calendar. Today, one of the pieces which will make up MotoGP's calendar was announced, with the news that the Rio Motorpark has signed a five-year deal with Dorna to host the Brazilian round of MotoGP from 2022 to 2026.

The new venue will see MotoGP return to Brazil after an absence of 18 years. From 1995 to 2004, Grand Prix racing was held at the Nelson Piquet Circuit in Jacarepagua, to the southwest of Rio de Janeiro, and before that at Goiana in the north of Brazil  between 1987 and 1989, before moving to Interlagos near Sao Paulo for 1992.

Brazil, along with rest of South and Central America, is a key market for the manufacturers. Nearly a million powered two wheelers were sold in Brazil last year, with Honda taking the vast bulk of those, selling 775,000 units.

The Brazilian round of MotoGP is to be held at a new circuit to be built at Deodoro, in the northwest of Rio de Janeiro. That circuit will be part of the Rio Motorpark, to be built on land formerly owned by the Brazilian military. 

But the Rio Motorpark has a number of question marks hanging over the project. Earlier this year, there were questions raised over the legitimacy of the bidding process which went to awarding the contract to build and run the circuit. The contract had also been awarded without a proper environmental impact study, though this has now been completed. There are also questions over the opaque structure company running Rio Motorpark: its parent company is reportedly headquartered in Delaware, a US state which has a reputation for being a tax haven due to its low tax rates and laws on corporate privacy.

There is a political risk associated with the Grand Prix in Brazil as well. Far right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has thrown his backing behind the project, together with the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella. Some in Brazil believe that this backing is political, aimed at weakening the position of Interlagos in Sao Paulo, a stronghold of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, the bitter rivals of Bolsonaro's Social Liberal Party.

There are more practical concerns as well. Safety is a major issue for F1 in Brazil, with teams and drivers being held up at gunpoint and having equipment stolen from them. Team members have been told not to wear team clothing until they arrive at the circuit, and only pick up rental cars at their hotels rather than the airport. At other car events, teams are provided with cars with armor, and the cars made as non-descript as possible.

Brazil is just one new venue expected to appear on the MotoGP calendar in the coming years. An Indonesian race at Mandalika on Lombok has already been announced, and is expected to be run in 2021 for the first time. Sources have indicated that a race in Vietnam is under serious consideration, at a new track to be built in the country. And talks continue about a race in Mexico, and about moving the Argentinian race from Termas de Rio Hondo to San Juan de Villicum, where the WorldSBK series has their round.

The Termas race faces multiple challenges: despite the universally beloved layout, the circuit is in the middle of the country and traveling there presents severe logistical challenges. Moving to San Juan de Villicum would not solve that, of course, and so a race in Brazil could potentially take the place of the race in Termas.

Dorna CEO has also told reporters that MotoGP wants to return to Portugal. But instead of this meaning that five races would be held on the Iberian peninsula, the total would be cut to three, with a rotation system put in place for Portugal and Spain. The Portuguese round could alternate between Portimao and Estoril, although Portimao needs resurfacing and Estoril would require significant upgrades to track and facilities.

Two Spanish rounds could then alternate between the four current tracks, with Jerez, Valencia, Barcelona, and Aragon taking it in turns to host MotoGP. That faces resistance particularly in Jerez: the race in the Andalusian city is regarded as the opening of the European part of the MotoGP calendar, and has a significant place in MotoGP culture.

The press release announcing the race in Brazil appears below:

MotoGP™ returns to Rio de Janeiro from 2022

The world’s fastest motorcycle racing Championship will soon be back in Brazil, racing at the all-new Rio Motorpark

Thursday, 10 October 2019

Dorna Sports is delighted to announce that MotoGP™️ will be returning to Brazil from 2022, with a five-year contract with Rio Motorsports (RMS) securing the sport’s return to Rio de Janeiro until 2026. The all-new Rio Motorpark, set for construction in Deodoro, will host the Grand Prix, which is back in Rio after 15 years.

Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro, have already staged some incredible chapters in the history of the sport, most recently in 2004 at Jacarepaguá, which had hosted MotoGP™ since 1995. The development of a new venue to replace Jacarepaguá, which was repurposed as an Olympic Park, makes for an exciting prospect for both the sport and the city.

Rio Motorpark is forecast for completion in 2021 and features a 4.5km layout of seven left- and six right-handed corners, with an approximate MotoGP™ laptime of 1 minute 38 seconds.

Marcelo Crivella, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro: “The news that we already have a first competition for Rio's new racetrack, MotoGP, confirmed for 2022, represents a great advance for our city. The construction of the Deodoro racetrack is a spectacular project, with an extraordinary investment that will generate 7,000 jobs and make Rio regain the leading role in major competitions. We will take development to a region of the city with many needs, which is the West Zone, and stimulate tourism. All this without the City putting a penny into the project, since the whole investment will be the responsibility of the concessionaire.”

JR Pereira, CEO of Rio Motorsports: “Dorna was an extremely loyal partner in every conversation we had. Now that we have completed the local environmental impact studies and the commission that will look into the matter is in place, following the regulatory policies of INEA (Rio de Janeiro State Environment Agency), it has been possible to formalize an agreement that has been built for over two years. We are very grateful to Carmelo and his team that we can realize the dream of bringing MotoGP back to Rio.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “I’m very proud to announce that MotoGP will be returning to race in Rio de Janeiro, one of the world’s truly iconic cities and in such an amazing country. Brazil is an important market for motorcycles, motorcycle racing and motorsport, with a history to be proud of – and a future that I’m excited to see MotoGP play such a vital part as we return in 2022.”