KTM is facing significant financial difficulties that are affecting its cost-effectiveness, being made redundant and being shut down for several weeks. As a shareholder, Pierer Mobility, will nevertheless maintain its involvement in MotoGP, which it sees as necessary to promote itself and help sell motorcycles, and will also consider that a withdrawal would only worsen the crisis.

In this context, rumors have emerged linking Lewis Hamilton to KTM. This summer, while he was said to be close to investing in Gresei, the seven-time F1 champion confirmed his interest in becoming a team shareholder. Although the rescue of the brand, whose debts reach almost three billion euros, is not yet possible, KTM has confirmed that it has considered the potential investment in its MotoGP project.

“All I can say is that we have had very interesting talks with his team ,” KTM Motorsports boss Pit Beirer told Speedweek.  “It’s no secret that Lewis Hamilton is interested in MotoGP and wants to have his own team. He’s had some very interesting talks with him as well.”

Lewis Hamilton has personal sponsor Moster, who has even produced several variations of his energy drink at his own pace, while KTM is closely linked to Red Bull, but that aspect is clearly not an obstacle.  “Everyone we work with knows how close we are, Red Bull and KTM are inseparable ,” Beirer said.  “This has not been a problem in the negotiations so far.”

Brad Biпder

 

Photo by: KTM Images

Hamilton’s investment potential is written in the context where KTM must show itself to be  “creative and open to new discussions”  and because of its current location according to Beirer. The door is therefore oOpen to potential shareholders who would hold shares in the racing team.

“This has attracted the interest of investors. They have approached and asked if it was possible to invest in such a project as MotoGP. With the pressure the company is under at the moment, we had to think about how this would be possible. To achieve this, changes would have to be made in the organisation, the racing programme would have to be made [in terms of cost].”

The racing ace believes that the willingness of Liberty Media, already the owner of F1, to buy MotoGP and the involvement of other brands brings  “huge value”  to the championship. He insisted on the  “strong interest”  of these potential investors and expressed his hope that a solution will be found quickly:  “We are working together to make interesting deals before the start of the season. Until then, you have to contribute to working on this project.”