The Red Bull KTM Ajo team project for the coming Moto3 campaign was presented on Monday at the KTM headquarters in Munderfing (Austria), with rider Niccolo Antonelli and Bo Bendsneyder unveiling their new bikes for 2017. The pair will look to follow in the footsteps of Brad Binder and win the World Championship with the team this season. The spectacular presentation also saw the KTM structures for Moto2 and MotoGP introduced, with the Austrian manufacturer leading a triple-pronged assault in the World Championship. Since coming together in 2012, the joint venture between Red Bull and KTM has borne fruit with two titles in Moto3 (with Sandro Cortese in 2012 and Brad Binder in 2016). Under the guidance of Aki Ajo, the structure faces its sixth season with the ambition of repeating the successes of last year. The bike for 2017 features an all-new design, for all three categories in which Red Bull KTM teams are involved. The new liveries will be on display again from February 27th to March 1st at Jerez, where Antonelli and Bendsneyder will continue developing their KTM machines in testing. They previously had a positive few days of testing in Valencia last week.
Aki Ajo – Team Manager: “I am very happy to be starting off another year in Moto3. It is a challenge to start a new season like this, after achieving such good results in the previous one, because expectations are very high. However, despite these successes we have to keep our feet on the ground. We have been with KTM and Red Bull for many years and they have always been great years, with us fighting for the title. There’s no pressure, but this season we want to try to reach the top again. As always, I want to thank all the partners for their essential support for this structure.”
#23 Niccolo Antonelli: “The presentation was very nice. It is impressive to bring together the riders of the three classes with the same colours, and the new design for the Moto3 bike looks great. With the presentation over, now it’s time to think about the next test. I can’t wait to go out with the bike and wear the new colours -I really like them and I think they could be the most attractive on the grid.”
#64 Bo Bendsneyder: “It’s been very special to have the KTM bikes for all three classes here. The colours are very beautiful; I am proud to be a part of the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. I’m looking forward to testing in Jerez with the new design, after a good test in Valencia. We also did a good job in the last test of 2016, so we already have a good base setup and we have to keep improving it.”
Source: ajo.fi
