For the first time, KTM has indicated on record that it intends to continue its MotoGP involvement beyond 2026, as it shared videos of its 850cc engine being started up for the first time.
After a winter of catastrophic losses that almost led to the company’s collapse, KTM Motorsport Manager Pit Beirer has always been careful to stop short of confirming the Austrian factory’s participation in MotoGP’s new era, starting in 2027. Yet his words indicate that is very much in their plans. “I am extremely happy that we could fire up the future of MotoGP already in September 2025,” Beirer said. “We are on a perfect time schedule to get the full bike up and running very soon.
Watch the first impressions of the future heart of the KTM RC16 in the video below:
VIDEO | KTM Factory Racing fires future MotoGP engine to life
Here is the complete press release from KTM…
REVS UP: KTM FACTORY RACING FIRES FUTURE MOTOGP ENGINE TO LIFE
Almost 10 years on from Red Bull KTM’s first steps into the highly competitive world of MotoGP, the company marked another milestone. The initial dyno runs for the 2027 850cc engine concept recently took place at the company’s Austrian HQ with a view to the forthcoming technical regulations for the series.
Noise, excitement and potential: the scream of Red Bull KTM’s competitive intentions rang clear from the manufacturer’s base as the motorsport engineering team gathered at the engine dyno facility in Mattighofen, together with CEO Gottfried Neumeister, to witness the first power curve output for the 850cc MotoGP engine.
The motor, prepped to run 100% non-fossil fuel as per the 2027 rulebook, was being put through its paces as the testing and development phase for the coming era of MotoGP continues.
Since joining the MotoGP Grand Prix field in 2016 with a wildcard appearance at the Valencian round, Red Bull KTM have celebrated victories, podiums with six different riders, a successful alliance with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad and have increased brand awareness and recognition on a wide global scale. MotoGP has become a cornerstone of KTM’s factory racing program.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “I am extremely happy that we could fire up the future of MotoGP already in September 2025. We are on a perfect time schedule to get the full bike up and running very soon. We have packed everything we have learned during the last years of MotoGP participation into this engine and I am very confident that this piece of art will become a benchmark in the seasons to come from 2027. I want to thank the factory and the whole team behind the project for this massive effort.”
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