Honda definitely want the best Japanese rider available, the only two seats they have available are a Repsol seat and Taka's. Unless Mir goes elsewhere, which is looking increasingly unlikely, their only option is to drop Taka.
2025 Silly Season
- Thread starter mikesbytes
- Start date
Help Support MotoGP Forum:
- Joined
- May 8, 2024
- Messages
- 532
- Location
- Home
I wonder how much Taka's decision is due to his previously injured hand.
With Ogura and Furusato coming through, it's time to pass the baton to someone else.
With Ogura and Furusato coming through, it's time to pass the baton to someone else.
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2008
- Messages
- 5,926
- Location
- In Cider
Lenovo Ducati
Francesco Bagnaia
Marc Marquez
Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Pedro Acosta
Aprilia Racing
Jorge Martin
Marco Bezzechi
Repsol Honda
Joan Mir
Luca Marini
Monster Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Tech 3 KTM
Maverick Vinales
Enea Bastiannini
Pramac Yamaha
?
?
VR46 Ducati
Fabio Digianantonio (Signed directly to Ducati, likely to get a GP25)
Morbidelli?
Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
Femin Aldeguer?
Trackhouse Racing Aprilia
Miguel Oliveira
Raul Fernandez
LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Takaagi Nakagami
Francesco Bagnaia
Marc Marquez
Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Pedro Acosta
Aprilia Racing
Jorge Martin
Marco Bezzechi
Repsol Honda
Joan Mir
Luca Marini
Monster Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Tech 3 KTM
Maverick Vinales
Enea Bastiannini
Pramac Yamaha
?
?
VR46 Ducati
Fabio Digianantonio (Signed directly to Ducati, likely to get a GP25)
Morbidelli?
Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
Femin Aldeguer?
Trackhouse Racing Aprilia
Miguel Oliveira
Raul Fernandez
LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Takaagi Nakagami
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2016
- Messages
- 1,523
- Location
- FNQ
KTM have won every championship they have entered so far, aside from MotoGP. With the rider signings for next year I reckon they are aiming for the title with Pedro in 2026.
My prediction is Roberts will eventually get the call up to MotoGP with Trackhouse.
I guess Miguel has gotten himself into a good position to remain on the grid next year. He'll either stay at Trackhouse or switch to Pramac. If he stays Raul will get the Pramac ride, if Miguel leaves Raul can stay at Trackhouse.
The Ducati seats are gonna look pretty much exactly like this, we'll have to see whether Franco or Fermin will ride for Gresini.
That leaves Ai vs. Taka for the seat at LCR and whoever gets the second Pramac Yamaha. I hope a young guy from Moto2 (Garcia, Gonzalez, Canet?) will get that seat. Sorry Jack but you're washed.
I'm thinking Ai would want the Pramac seat. He cannot be looking at Taka's career and thinking; "yea, I want that." I thought this came up before...maybe in this thread...but Ai doesn't have to ride on the designated Asian seat, does he? I thought that's why he left Idemitsu / Honda Team Asia.
He left because he didn’t get along with that team’s management. He’s still connected to HRC otherwise.
Did Aoyama & Ogura didnt get along? (I thought Aoyama supported Ogura)
Another sign that not everything is fine at KTM.
Pedro Acosta is going directly to the factory to spend as many days as he needs to get some answers (and figure out if he’s in the right place to chase his dreams) because no one at the races can answer some of his questions.
KTM certainly has the resources and the potential to rule MotoGP, but their current arrogance seems more hubris than confidence to me.
- Joined
- May 8, 2024
- Messages
- 532
- Location
- Home
As long as they keep adding money, technicians and good riders to their project, they will at some point succeed.
With aero still in play, and allowed on the next generation, KTM will continue to have some development advantages with their link to Red Bull F1.
The KTM culture needs a strong and forcefull rider, I believe. Binder has been a gift for them, since he is clearly strong, and utterly loyal. Same with Pedrosa, and Espargaró.
They've only lacked the tip of the spear. They could have had Martin, but for his ambitions, he slipped away, wanting to become a World Champion before the KTM was ready.
If their bike continues to slipp away from the top two, I can see HRC betting very big on Acosta. KTM knows that HRC will come in 2026 and both HRC and Ducati might come in 2027. The pressure has never been higher for the lads and lasses in Mattinghofen.
The Misano test Sept 9th will be interesting.
With aero still in play, and allowed on the next generation, KTM will continue to have some development advantages with their link to Red Bull F1.
The KTM culture needs a strong and forcefull rider, I believe. Binder has been a gift for them, since he is clearly strong, and utterly loyal. Same with Pedrosa, and Espargaró.
They've only lacked the tip of the spear. They could have had Martin, but for his ambitions, he slipped away, wanting to become a World Champion before the KTM was ready.
If their bike continues to slipp away from the top two, I can see HRC betting very big on Acosta. KTM knows that HRC will come in 2026 and both HRC and Ducati might come in 2027. The pressure has never been higher for the lads and lasses in Mattinghofen.
The Misano test Sept 9th will be interesting.
As I said previously Acosta seems to have become less competitive rather than more competitive as the season progresses, which I somehow doubt is down to him. I fear for Bastianini if not so much for Vinales for whom poor decisions have been a career long habit, and suspect both have been lured by Acosta’s early season competitiveness.
Perhaps KTM are going to follow the full Ducati path from a trellis frame to a carbon fibre then a conventional chassis, but I can’t see Acosta at least hanging around while they sort things. They are however much better placed/resourced to get the CF chassis to work than Ducati Corse who were a tiny artisanal concern at the time were when they went the carbon fibre way.
The Ducati carbon frame was not so much a chassis as it was a carbon mount on the engine to hang the headstock on.
The KTM attempt is much more sophisticated of course, but as with any new tech, it will take time before it becomes competitive. I’m surprised they pushed it into race use so early whereas Aprilia, who is also testing a carbon frame has so far limited it to Savadori’s outings. Maybe KTM has decided that the best way to get feedback is in a race situation. That maybe true, but it definitely comes with a (Hopefully temporary) dip in form.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2012
- Messages
- 998
They're going to need a bigger boat^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H better bike.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2023
- Messages
- 1,111
- Location
- Australia
Suspect that getting Bastainini is yet an another attempt to acquire Ducati secrets however what KTM and other manufacturers need is an organizational structure like Ducati
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2012
- Messages
- 998
If the other teams don't build such an organisational structure, then I suspect Ducati's advantage will survive the forthcoming technical regulations changes.
Ducati also inherited the VR46 academy when they signed up the team. Smart move, and it looks as if VR46 are coming even further into the arms of Ducati.
If Ducati did make a Moto3 bike, which Claudio Domenicali said he was confident would be very fast from the start, then that would make an even stronger pipeline. Of course, they may be too busy moving into the motocross market, but CD did say 'never say never'.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2008
- Messages
- 5,926
- Location
- In Cider
Does that mean VR46 ranch bikes will be Ducati's going forward?
We will see, depending on the progress of Ducati’s off-road portfolio.
For now, VR46 has an official partnership with Yamaha, who supplies the flat track and MX bikes. The academy riders use their respective brand’s super bikes for track days. The unaffiliated ones (eg Vietti) use Yamahas.
Acosta big bet on KTM has failed. A talent like him should always seek for the best at the moment. KTM is not ready yet and will take a long way to be. KTM right now is much like Ducati at their first years. Lots of ego, ideologies, pride, and of course poor results. Acosta is not Stoner and 2024 is not 2007. There will never be anyone like Stoner. Racing guys should know this by now. Stoner is really, really a very special talent, someone incredible rare. No one is like him and no one can do what he did in the way he did. Acosta needs the top bike, as well as Marquez, and so every top notch rider.
Better Acosta find a escape route from KTM.
Better Acosta find a escape route from KTM.
If he and his manager were smart, they’d have performance related clauses in the contract.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2012
- Messages
- 998
