Stable? KTM submits application to manufacturers’ association for special review

The 2026 MotoGP season could hardly have got off to a better start for the only German-speaking project. After an unremarkable winter testing programme, youngster Pedro Acosta shone at the season opener and left Thailand as the championship leader. The set-up of the bike, combined with the high temperatures, had ensured full competitiveness here. However, by the second round, Acosta was not the only one to criticise the RC16’s performance.

Although the bike had been optimised for the technical sections, things now looked bleak for the KTM riders on the straights. On top of the difficulties in getting the most out of the prototype from Upper Austria, reliability issues had now also emerged. Hardly a Grand Prix went by without an RC16 rider being forced to retire. In addition to engine failures, there was, for example, a clutch failure for Binder at Catalunya and the devastating electronic glitch on Acosta’s bike. When KTM works rider Brad Binder suffered two further drive train failures at Mugello, it had long been clear that these engine failures were not isolated incidents.

Pedro Acosta scheiterte auch 2026 mehrfach an der Technik

Foto: Gold and Goose

What is known is this: to ensure the reliability of the RC16, the power of the four-cylinder engines was reduced by lowering the revs. This is because, whilst overhauls of the sealed engines are permitted, they are only allowed within the framework of the stipulated engine quotas for each manufacturer and rider.

According to KTM’s Head of Racing, Pit Beirer, the racing department pulled out all the stops early on to investigate the cause – and rectify it. After an enormous effort and a thorough examination of all relevant components of the RC16 powertrain, they succeeded. Pit Beirer told SPEEDWEEK.com: “We eventually discovered that we were using high-stress parts in the powertrain which did not meet the specified quality standards. These critical engine components failed under certain conditions. These are components from a supplier, and having investigated the cause, we can now also rule out the possibility that this damage would occur with ‘correct’ parts.

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In practical terms, however, the problem is not yet resolved. This is because the batch of the affected ‘defective parts’ spans the Austrians’ existing 2026 engine quota. For safety reasons too, KTM opted for a pragmatic solution, as Pit Beirer reported: “We have submitted a special application to the MSMA manufacturers’ association, accompanied by detailed documentation, requesting permission to open the affected engines under controlled conditions during the summer break in order to replace the critical engine parts with the correct parts of identical specifications. We have already received positive feedback on this during the Sachsenring GP, although some responses are still pending. We hope for good cooperation here too and are demonstrating full transparency to all parties involved regarding the entire process.”

If KTM Factory Racing’s application is approved, the technicians will be permitted to open up and repair the RC16 engines accordingly. However, this would not change the current engine status with regard to the engines that have already been used. Should further damage occur, this will be counted against the 2026 engine allocation. A maximum of eight engines may be used per KTM rider. If this limit is exceeded, the rider will be penalised with a pit lane start when using the additional engine.