“Expectation was too high” - KTM’s blunt truth about Miller’s bike
Jack Miller finished 16th, 19th and 16th-fastest at the preseason test, Brad Binder was 21st, 10th and 14th.
Motorsport director Pit Beirer had claimed “we need results” from the 2023 MotoGP season, yet KTM left Sepang with plenty of thinking to do.
“The expectation was quite high,” Guidotti said about the first preseason test.
“We missed something, to be completely honest and fair.
“In the next weeks we have to work to get the best potential from what we tested.”
Asked what KTM had missed, he said: “Some tenths! We did very short runs. The amount of tyres available was enough to develop the bike.
“But we missed something. Also, the weather wasn’t helpful.
“But I’m not trying to find excuses. We are working hard to give our riders the best possible [bike].
“The expectation was a little bit too high, maybe. I don’t know.”
Guidotti was asked how KTM could extract more performance and replied: “It would be nice to know! The aero package was helpful. The engine? Question marks. We have data, we can work on it.
“As always, it is a compromise. Also, we are trying to adjust the riding style.
“We are pretty confident, pretty satisfied. A test is a test.”
MotoGP teams have one final preseason test in Portimao before the season begins in the same location on March 24-26.
KTM are hoping for an improvement on Binder’s sixth-place in the MotoGP standings, and Miguel Oliveira in 10th.
Oliveira won two races last season, both in the wet, where KTM’s bike famously excels, but now with Miller on board the challenge is to develop strengths in more areas.
“We did a massive amount of work - the riders, technicians, mechanics, an incredible effort,” Guidotti said. “It is now time to collect the information to prepare for Portimao.
“Different circumstances, it won’t be hot [like in Sepang]. It will be preparation for the race a few days later.
“The first day we will try to fix everything, the second day will be preparation for the race.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
