KTM to partner Tech3 MotoGP team from 2019

The partnership with Tech3 Racing means KTM, which already has a factory team in MotoGP, will have four bikes on the starting grid from 2019 and deal will run for three years, said Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal.

KTM will replace Yamaha as partners to the French-run Tech3 MotoGP team from 2019, the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer said on Monday.

Tech3 Racing, which ends its tie-up with Yamaha by the end of the 2018 MotoGP season, will start partnership with KTM next year. (HT Photo)

The move means KTM, which already has a factory team, will have four bikes on the starting grid next year.

The deal will run for three years, said Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal.

“We always tried to be the official Yamaha junior team but it was never really the case,” Poncharal told the official MotoGP website (www.motogp.com). “That will be the case where we are going.”

The privately-run team announced last month that they were ending their partnership with Yamaha after more than 20 years together. Their current riders are Frenchman Johann Zarco and Malaysian newcomer Hafizh Syahrin.