At KTM it is becoming apparent that in 2023 Brad Binder and Jack Miller will form the Red Bull works team and Miguel Oliveira will drive at Tech3. Pit Beirer revealed what speaks for a commitment from the Australian.
KTM has not yet officially confirmed in which formation the factory will appear in the 2023 MotoGP World Championship. Red Bull-KTM has Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira riding this season, while the KTM Tech3 Factory Racing team has Moto2 World Champion Remy Gardner and Raúl Fernández, who won eight Moto2 races last year and finished second overall in the World Championship.
According to the latest research from SPEEDWEEK.com, a 2023 Red Bull-KTM pairing is on the cards with Brad Binder and Jack Miller, while four-time MotoGP winner Miguel Oliveira is set to return to Hervé Poncharal’s Tech3 team. Whether Gardner or Fernández will remain there as his teammate is an open question. The results so far speak more in favor of Gardner. But first, the basis for discussion between KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer and Gardner Manager Paco Sanchez must be restored.
On Friday there were a number of discussions between Gardner and Technical Director Fabio Sterlacchini and Technical Coordinator Esteban Garcia. A new crew chief may also have to be found for Gardner, because the relationship with Alex Merhand is strained, claims Paco Sanchez.
Pit Beirer admitted a few days ago that KTM was negotiating with Jack Miller, Alex Rins and Pol Espargaró, but when asked by SPEEDWEEK.com in Mugello today, he did not want to confirm that the deal with Miller was already sealed. However, the 1999 250cc motocross runner-up world champion might not be elicited a clear denial either.
While Ducati would like to see Miller continue at Desmosedici, the Lenovo factory team will be made up of Bagnaia and Bastianini going forward. In the Pramac-Ducati team, Miller, who became Moto3 Vice World Champion in 2014 on the Red Bull-KTM in the Ajo team with seven GP victories, would have had to accept a sensitive salary cut. And team owner Aki Ajo has been Jack’s personal manager ever since.
“The fact that he was fourth in the World Cup last year and is now fifth ahead of Bagnaia speaks for Jack Miller,” said Beirer. “We have good discussions with Jack Miller, but we also talk to Pol and continue to talk to Miguel. It would be too early to announce anything now. All the drivers mentioned have something very special that appeals to us. Pol played a major role in shaping the MotoGP project from 2017 to 2020. With his help we got to where we are. At the same time, we have a four-time GP winner in Miguel. He still has a score to settle with KTM. When the bike became capable of winning, he left us for another manufacturer; there he followed his childhood dream. In the meantime he has noticed that not everything is easier there than it is here. Miller has won three MotoGP races. Each of these candidates has exceptional abilities. We now have to see who suits us best.”
However, there is a lot of evidence at KTM that Binder and Miller will form the Red Bull duo in 2023 and Oliveira will be persuaded to lead the way at Tech3 going forward. He has already won the MotoGP races in Spielberg and Portimão in this racing team in 2020. “Yes, Miguel going to Tech3 is one of our options,” Beirer confirmed today. “But only if Miguel is also convinced that it is the right decision. The game is currently open. Only Brad Binder’s place in the Red Bull team is fixed. Everything else is currently being discussed intensively.”
As for Gardner and Fernández, a decision is not expected to be made until following four more races in late June or July.
Pol Espargaró heard from Honda that they wanted to hire a younger driver, who will most likely be Joan Mir. That’s why the 2013 Moto2 World Champion is hoping for a return to Red Bull-KTM.
“Today in Mugello in FP3 with Miguel Oliveira we were just a tenth of a second behind world champion and championship leader Fabio Quartararo,” said Pit Beirer. “We had to find the right suspension set-up once more on Friday with the new aerodynamics. Despite this, Brad Binder was seventh and 2nd in the top speed standings following Friday’s FP2. Nevertheless, we know that we have to improve the bike. Ducati shows how it’s done. You have a bike with which not only the experienced, but also the rookies can perform at their best.”
