Alex Baumgartel to leave HRC MotoGP consultant role

Reports on Friday at this weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix suggested that Alex Baumgartel would be leaving HRC’s MotoGP project, having only joined it in a personal capacity earlier this year. These reports were backed up by Alberto Puig on Saturday morning in Aragon.

Baumgartel, who co-founded Moto2 chassis manufacturer Kalex with Klaus Hirsekorn in 2008, began his relationship with HRC in 2022 when Kalex started to build swingarms for HRC’s MotoGP project.

In 2023, a Kalex frame for the RC213V debuted at Le Mans, and from the start of this year Baumgartel himself has been contracted by HRC in a technical consultancy role for the RC213V.

Repsol Honda team principal Alberto Puig, speaking to MotoGP.com during MotoGP FP2 at this weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix, was reluctant to say too much on the situation, which was first reported by Motorsport.com on Friday.

“Nothing happened seriously,” Puig said. “We all decided it was okay like this, and there’s not more to talk about.”

Although Baumgartel appears to be on his way out of HRC after only six months, there is not yet confirmation that Kalex will end its collaboration with the Japanese brand.

Additionally, Honda is reportedly chasing the services of Fabiano Sterlacchini, who it was announced earlier this year is leaving KTM where he was technical director since the end of 2022. Puig, though, suggested otherwise.

“We didn’t make any advance on this,” Puig said. “Of course, all the technicians in the paddock are interesting to Honda, from each manufacturer. We are checking many possibilities, but not this one in particular. This is all I can say.”