Marquez in crisis: Will he switch to KTM?

The six-time world champion is currently chasing successes at Honda. It remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old Spaniard will fulfill his contract, which runs until 2024. There is strong speculation about a move to KTM next year, but KTM sports director Pit Beirer partially rejected the speculation.

“It's not a scenario that we're really discussing in depth. There’s a bit too much rumor mill going on,” emphasized Beirer in a media round before the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday (14.00 p.m.). Marquez, who is currently the most successful motorcycle racer with 59 MotoGP victories, has a contract to fulfill and a mission at Honda to get the project back on the road to success, the 50-year-old German added. “They should do their homework, we’ll do ours. Then the contract will expire and then we can see whether we still like each other as much as we do now,” said Beirer and grinned.

Marquez praises KTM beyond words Marquez recently fueled the rumors when he appeared on the show “Sport & Talk”. ServusTV responded directly to a relevant question. “I have a contract for next year. But how KTM has improved... They are now the number two manufacturer in the World Championship. “You will be number one faster than expected,” said Marquez and praised the entire team from Upper Austria. “The ambition at KTM is there. You made the right decisions with the engineers, the drivers and the team. I think it’s great what they’ve accomplished.”

The most successful driver of today: Marc Marquez © ANSA / VINCENT JANNINK

A few days later, Beirer described the Marquez praise as a “knighthood.” However, the two have not spoken to each other “intensely” at the moment, also because Marquez is contractually bound. Nevertheless, the “connection” to the Spaniard is there, because he started his racing career fifteen years ago with the orange racing team from Mattighofen. In addition, the common partner Red Bull unites Beirer. However, Beirer is still concerned with the dilemma of having a total of five riders available for only four starting positions in MotoGP for 2024.

Negotiations are currently underway with the marketing company Dorna. It is also unclear whether KTM will be awarded a fifth or even sixth starting place. In this case, a slot would be open for Marquez. But Beirer preferred to look ahead to the upcoming home spectacle at the Red Bull Ring. “Compliments like that are nice, but it's even nicer when Brad Binder stands at the top of the podium on Sunday,” said the former world-class motocross rider, who has been paralyzed in a wheelchair since 2003 due to an accident with his bike.

KTM fans hope for Binder The South African Binder, Spielberg winner in 2021, is currently fourth in the World Championships and, alongside the Australian Jack Miller (8th), is the best hope for a KTM home win in Styria, which would also be the first win of the season. Like last year, around 170.000 fans are expected at the Red Bull Ring in the coming days, and the weather is expected to be summery on Saturday and Sunday.

Before the main race on Sunday over 28 laps, the qualifying sessions and the sprint race (15.00 p.m.) with 14 revolutions are on the program on Saturday. The Ducati riders around defending champion, World Cup leader and last year's Spielberg winner Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia are the big hunted.

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Marquez in crisis: Will he switch to KTM?

A praise from MotoGP superstar Marc Marquez to the red-white-red motorcycle manufacturer KTM really fueled the rumor mill before the home race in Spielberg.

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