KTM Racing boss Beirer delighted: “Moto3 contract with Ajo secured until the end of 2028”

Red Bull Rookies Cup – Moto3 – Moto2 – MotoGP: KTM, the only German-speaking manufacturer in the Road Racing World Championship, is involved at every level of the MotoGP pyramid. For the Rookies Cup, organised by long-standing partner Red Bull, the technology from the talent development centres in Mattighofen and Munderfing has been provided from day one (the series began in 2007, with Johann Zarco as the first Cup winner).

To ensure it did not lose its most talented riders, KTM’s sporting director Pit Beirer first established fully factory-backed teams long before the MotoGP project began, and from 2012 onwards, factory-supported teams in the smallest and middle-capacity categories. The most important partner in this endeavour: Aki Ajo. The Finn made a name for himself with his professional family-run business – in its very first year, racing under the Red Bull banner, the team secured the World Championship title thanks to competitive Moto3 technology from Austria and Sandro Cortese.

Miller, Oliveira, Binder, Acosta: the partnership churned out winning riders one after another

The success in the debut year forged a strong bond. With Jack Miller, Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder, the next generation of winning riders was developed and, in Binder’s case, immediately utilised for the team’s own MotoGP project. But not without the intermediate step of Moto2. In 2017, the partnership with Aki Ajo’s team operated on two fronts – in terms of chassis, relying exclusively on KTM’s own technology in Moto2 until the switch to Kalex.

To date, the partnership has secured no fewer than seven titles in the Riders’ World Championship. The bond grew even stronger when mastermind Aki Ajo moved to become team manager of the MotoGP team; his son Niklas took over day-to-day operations in Moto3 and Moto2.

Junior-Chef Niklas Ajo verantwortet die Moto3- und Moto2-Struktur

Foto: Gold and Goose

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Not to be forgotten is the poster child for this philosophy – Pedro Acosta. The mega-talent from Murcia worked his way through every level of the system. Red Bull, KTM, Ajo and Acosta himself have given MotoGP a gift that will be in action alongside Marc Márquez in 2027.

At the end of 2027, a major revolution will take place in the World Championship’s lowest class. It will be the final season in which manufacturers compete against one another in open competition. A year later, the World Championship’s lowest class will be reformatted into a single-make series featuring Yamaha motorcycles. Instead of purebred prototypes, hybrids combining the Japanese manufacturer’s production and racing technology will then serve as a significantly more cost-effective and ‘more mature’ platform for GP training.

Despite the ban on competition in Moto3 – KTM is still committed to 2028

Alongside Yamaha, the current participants Honda and KTM, as well as Aprilia and CF Moto, had also applied to be part of the Moto3 relaunch. Once the decision had been made in favour of Yamaha’s proposal, KTM could easily have justified withdrawing from the World Championship’s smallest class. Yet even without the chance to prove themselves as a manufacturer, the Austrians are sticking to the Academy concept.

Head of Racing Pit Beirer in an exclusive interview with SPEEDWEEK.com: “We never really asked ourselves whether we should continue our involvement below MotoGP level. It is a key element that we don’t need to justify – and, regardless of the bike, it is an essential component of KTM’s racing commitment in this paddock. It’s all interconnected. The Red Bull Rookies Cup only makes sense if we can offer the best riders of the future another platform.”

Red Bull KTM Ajo: Fundament des Erfolgs in der Moto3-WM

Foto: Gold and Goose

Pit Beirer confirmed: “I am absolutely delighted that we have secured our continued partnership with Ajo Motorsport beyond 2027. The relevant contracts have already been signed. We are firmly convinced that continuing our partnership with Aki, Niklas and the Ajo team in the junior classes is indispensable in the context of our long-term MotoGP commitment. Apart from that, it’s simply a huge pleasure to see how Aki is driving the whole KTM project forward with his unique eye for talent.”

This makes it clear: the KTM-backed Moto3 structure will purchase chassis from rival Yamaha, lease Yamaha engines from the Moto2 promoter, and continue to supply talent to the higher GP classes in 2028 as well.