Frank Latham has been named team manager for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team just ahead of the 2024 Pro Motocross season opener. Latham, a former mechanic for Marvin Musquin under the factory Red Bull KTM team, is set to replace Max Lee who managed the team for the past two seasons.
“I’m excited for the new opportunity and new venture,” said Latham. “By moving into this new role I hope I can make an impact, along with the team and the riders. I am very grateful that Troy [Lee] and the KTM Group are giving me this opportunity, the interest they’ve shown, and the support given to me in moving over to the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team. I am eager for the outdoor rounds to start and am excited to see how the season develops.”
“It’s been an honor to work with the entire Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team these last two seasons,” said Lee. “I truly appreciate this amazing experience and the opportunity to live this dream. It’s bittersweet leaving as I’m going to miss the races and working with such an incredible team but I am very excited to start this next chapter of my career. I wish the team the best of luck this outdoor season and I’d like to give a special thanks to Roger De Coster and John Hinz for their help and guidance. I know Frank Latham will do an outstanding job, as he brings with him years of experience validated with his team relationships and rider results. All the best to everyone at Troy Lee Designs, GASGAS and the KTM Group. On to the next.”
The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team will field a three-rider team of Justin Barcia in the 450MX class with Pierce Brown and Ryder Difrancesco both competing in the 250MX division.
“Supercross was definitely one of my more challenging seasons I have experienced so far,” Barcia said. “But our focus was to show up at every round with a goal to improve and build with every race. I feel towards the end of the season we made great strides, and we ended in a good spot walking away with a podium in San Diego and landing outside the podium at the last four rounds. I really enjoy outdoors and always have a lot of fun with the variety of tracks and conditions that Pro Motocross brings. I obviously didn’t get to start the outdoor season last year, so I am excited to go out there and have a lot of fun and have a strong season.”
“All in all, Supercross went well. I would have liked to have the last couple rounds better, but it is what is,” said Brown. “Sstuff happens – and we learned a lot from the end of Supercross. Moving into outdoor season, we have been testing a lot this past week and got the bike in a really good spot, so we are going to put some more motos in this week and I’m excited to get things rolling at Pala.”
“My rookie season was a learning experience,” said Difrancesco. “I had some good rides and speed, but never put it all together. I’m glad I finished every race, and it was a huge building block. I’m excited going into outdoors already having a full season under my belt, since it gives me more confidence already knowing what to expect.”
