KTM MotoGP rider Miguel Oliveira has indicated he would not accept an offer to return to the manufacturer’s satellite team Tech3, adding an extra twist to KTM’s efforts to put together what seems likely to be a very different 2023 line-up.
While Brad Binder has long been contracted through 2024, KTM has no riders committed to its other three MotoGP entries for next year yet – and KTM motorsport boss Pit Beirer acknowledged on Friday that the factory may want to switch Oliveira back over to Tech3, with which he spent 2019 and 2020 before his works team promotion.
Likewise on Friday, Oliveira himself described a Tech3 seat as something being “offered” to him and said it was “not my dream place” – before admitting that said dream place was “not available”, in what could be a reference to a Suzuki ride given he’d been touted as an option for the marque before it decided to leave MotoGP.
After the race on Sunday, however, Oliveira was even firmer in his stance over a potential move to Tech3.
Asked whether he was exploring options outside KTM, he said: “Yeah, I am.
“I told the management that I do not accept the Tech3 spot. And that I want my factory seat.
“And this not being possible, for sure I will take other options into consideration. At the moment there’s nothing really relevant to add about that.”
The subsequent exchange further underlined his stance.
Interviewer: So, no Tech3 next year?
Oliveira: No.
Interviewer: Definitely?
Oliveira: Definitely.
Interviewer: If that’s the only job going?
Oliveira: There are still some jobs available, don’t worry! Nothing against them [Tech3]!
Oliveira’s unwillingness to accept an effective demotion to Tech3 is not a surprise, given both his status as the rider with the most MotoGP wins for KTM and the fact he’d already felt slighted back in 2018 when Binder got the nod to partner Pol Espargaro for 2019 at the works team following Johann Zarco’s exit.
But his options outside of KTM are less clear, and presumably comprise various satellite rides rather than the vacant works spots at Yamaha (where Fabio Quartararo is set to re-sign and Franco Morbidelli has a contract), Honda (where Joan Mir looks the likeliest candidate to replace Pol Espargaro) and Ducati (where there’s already a potential three-rider shortlist, within its current line-up, to partner Francesco Bagnaia).
One avenue for Oliveira to explore is LCR Honda, where both current riders are under serious pressure. And while the Idemitsu-backed ride currently occupied by Takaaki Nakagami seems earmarked for joint Moto2 points leader Ai Ogura, Alex Marquez – who had another quiet weekend at Mugello – may make way for an established rider.
Speaking to The Race at Mugello, team owner Lucio Cecchinello stressed that he had not yet had talks with Oliveira nor with Ducati’s Jack Miller, who has been linked to a potential LCR return, having raced for it back in 2015.
“It’s very strange, the truth, but the real truth is that I never spoke either with Jack or Oliveira,” Cecchinello stressed.
“It’s hilarious how the paddock rumours go around.
“We are, of course, a Honda team; we are an independent team but we are very close with Honda and every rider choice will be the result of a common consultation with Honda. And we have set a clear target, which is to wait until mid-June before taking any decision, because of course we want to give all the time and the possibility to our current riders to show their potential.”
There could also be vacancies within the new RNF Aprilia alliance, or perhaps at Gresini Ducati, should Enea Bastianini be promoted within the manufacturer’s ranks.
A mooted Oliveira departure creates a situation where KTM could potentially be replacing three riders at once, with Tech3 rookie duo Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez both having made it clear that they’re not convinced about staying on.
Fernandez was courted by other marques in the past, and has been mentioned by Aprilia’s lead rider Aleix Espargaro – who had already wanted him as factory team-mate before Maverick Vinales arrived on the market – as the kind of rider RNF Aprilia should be pursuing. Gardner, for his part, has talked of a potential move to Superbikes.
At the same time, KTM has already admitted to talks with Alex Rins, Pol Espargaro and Miller, and its rising junior star Pedro Acosta has just won his first Moto2 race – meaning it is unlikely to have any trouble filling whatever gaps in the line-up it needs to fill.
