La KTM a annoncé début juillet le départ de Fabiano Sterlacchini – qui occupait le poste de directeur technique et était arrivé en 2021 en provenance de Ducati. L’avenir de l’ingénieur pourrait maintenant passer par Honda.
According to Motorsport.com, Sterlacchini would not start working at the Japanese manufacturer before November. However, in order for this hiring to materialize, an agreement still needs to be finalized. And if that happens, it is unlikely that the Italian’s influence on the bike will be seen at the beginning of the next season.
Honda is thus apparently becoming more open to European technicians, as Sterlacchini would be the first top engineer to join the structure – something that could be vital in the bike’s development process, as Yamaha has already shown with the hirings of Luca Marmorini and Max Bartolini.
But it should be remembered that it would not be the first prominent hiring for the technical team from another manufacturer: Ken Kawauchi, former project leader at Suzuki, joined Honda in 2023 as technical manager.
