Since 2019, Tech3 has been the satellite team of KTM in MotoGP. From the beginning, the Austrian manufacturer wanted the French team to be on equal footing with the factory team as much as possible, and that is still the case today – as emphasized by the team manager of Red Bull GasGas Tech3, Nicolas Goyon.
The Frenchman emphasized that the intention is for the four KTM RC16 bikes to be as identical as possible: ‘Since we switched to GasGas, within Pierer Mobility, the goal is to have all four bikes as close as possible. That was the case last year’.
According to Goyon, there was an exception last year with the carbon fiber frame, but overall, GasGas Tech3 was always on par with KTM: ‘Of course, the situation with this carbon frame was a bit complicated. Honestly, they didn’t plan on using this frame; they used it on [Dani] Pedrosa’s bike for the wildcard in Misano, if I remember correctly. Then, it was so good, we had tests after Misano, the KTM riders tested it, and it was so good that they decided to use it. But nothing was ready at the factory. There was a plan to use this frame towards the end of the season. So it was a bit complicated behind KTM. They needed to react to this new situation and press the production button – which is not easy, especially for such a difficult component. Of course, in this area, we were a bit behind last year, but in all other departments, especially in aerodynamics, we were at the same level – maybe one race behind, which is the normal time to produce a part. So politically, everyone wants to have the bikes as close as possible’.
Regarding the carbon fiber frame, the Tech3 leader believes that the team will use it from the beginning: ‘Will we start this year with the carbon frame? I can say, yes, we will test it at some point and I am very confident that we will have the same setup as the others to start the season in Qatar’.
