MotoGP will roll back in time this weekend for the British Grand Prix and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will show off a unique livery on Sunday to honor both their past and the 75th anniversary of the FIM Grand Prix competition.
Brad Binder and Jack Miller will steer very different KTM RC16s on Sunday at Silverstone for round 10 of 20 in the 2024 campaign. The bikes have undergone a major makeover to not only take part in the legacy celebrations for MotoGP but also pay homage to a special motorcycle that holds pride of place in the KTM Motohall. The distinctive white and blue design graced the KTM LC4-engined 1988 ‘KTM Single Racer’ of Wolfgang Felber (current Vice President Technology Road Racing) and was also the basis for KTM’s corporate logotype of the time.
Felber’s engineering work with Josef Frauenschuh saw the duo fabricate a chassis and harness the power of the LC4 motor (displacement range between 612 to 660 cc) to allow ‘Fewo’ to enter and win the 1989 domestic ‘Sound of Singles’ series and demonstrate the potential and the versatility of the LC4 platform. The achievement both in the workshop and on the track prompted the origins of KTM’s STREET segment with the KTM DUKE range; that marked 30 years of existence in 2024. The milestone was the first foundation step in the road racing program that has produced elite-level prototype two-stroke and four-stroke machinery and seen the factory win Grands Prix in five categories (125cc, 250cc, Moto3™, Moto2™ and MotoGP) and titles in two classes.
Felber, who toasted four decades of work and history at KTM in 2022, has had significant input into KTM’s road racing motorsport development; from the creation of the first sportsbike in the KTM RC8 to the KTM RC4 Moto3 title-winner in 2012 and the present KTM RC16.
MotoGP was born as the FIM Motorcycling World Championship in 1949 with six Grands Prix that took place at the Isle of Man TT (Great Britain), Bremgarten (Switzerland), Assen (the Netherlands), Spa Francorchamps (Belgium), Clady (Northern Ireland) and Monza (Italy).
KTM Factory Racing
