KTM admit their one “great regret”

The Austrian manufacturer has enjoyed a breakthrough MotoGP season where they often been the closest challengers to the dominant Ducati.

And there is bold talk of expansion from KTM who continue to be linked with Marc Marquez, and who also plan to increase their presence with extra bikes on the grid.

The one stain on their rise might be Oliveira - who won five grands prix with their satellite and factory teams, but left last year after refusing to go back to Tech3 when he lost his factory seat.

“With great regret, having to send away a fast rider like Oliveira, not having found a compromise” team manager Francesco Guidotti told Gazzetta was his most radical change. 

“However, it was necessary to change, because with four riders with only KTM experience we had entered a difficult to manage loop. 

“We needed someone with a different experience to help us understand the problems. 

“The luck was that Jack Miller confirmed what we already thought. 

“We had already taken a development path that proved to be right. 

“And instead of small steps, we have begun to take important steps forward.”

Miller, who came from the factory Ducati team, has added invaluable experience to KTM.

The overall feeling is that they are a manufacturer heading in a positive direction.

“In Mattighofen in 2021 they understood that they had to change gears, so they implemented a program of change,” Guidotti explained. 

“I'm glad they chose me, but this change comes from a decision made at the top.

“As in any discipline, if you want to improve you have to hire people who are experts in that field. 

“But the credit for the progress is not only mine, there was a company that understood that it was time to change pace, to move from a management in which, starting from scratch, had to shoot at random. 

“And then, having reached a certain level, structure everything better, focusing on the details.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini and Alberto Giribuola arrived on the engineering side, while Miller brought his crew chief Christian Pupulin.

“It is clear that to grow you have to look at who is the reference,” Guidotti said. 

“I don't think it was a problem for Ducati, because for the level reached today I think the organisation of the single person matters more. 

“Which is what the Japanese method was a bit like, if we want to make a comparison, such a well-tested system where even by changing people the gear turns well. 

“Here in KTM, the process had to be speeded up, it's logical that they went fishing in the paddock.”