Red Bull KTM Tech3 in 2025

Tech3 returns to 'KTM' branding for 2025 when it will fiel🐟d an all-new rider line-up of multiple MotoGP race winners Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini.

Tech3’s MotoGP history

Formed in 1990 by Herve Poncharal, Guy Coulo💖n and Bernard Martignac, Tech3 mad♛e its name in the 250GP class, where Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano finished a perfect one-two with Yamaha machinery in the 2000 world championship.

That provided the springboard for both team and riders to join the premier 500cc class in 200🦋1, agai♍n supported by Yamaha.

Jacque had got the upper hand over Nakano in their 250 title showdown but i🌳t was the Japanese who stood on the podium during their rookie 500GP season on the way to an excellent fifth in the standings.

Both remained on the Gauloises-backed bikes for 2002 and the start of the new MotoGP era, beginning the season on the ‘oꦗld’ 500s before receiving the new M1 four-stroke for the final three rounds.

But the early M1 was no match for the Honda RC211V and a third place for new 2003 signing Alex Barros in the team’s home Le Mans round was not only Tech3’s debut four-stroke ro🍌strum but the only podium for Yamaha during a winless season.

While Barros swiftly returned to Honda for 2004, Valentꦜino Rossi’s arrival at the factory team saw Marco Melandri transferred to ⛄Tech3 (now in Fortuna colours) alongside another new Tech3 rider, 500cc ace Norick Abe.

Melandri took a pair of early podiums but his season ended with a nightmare five DNFs from six races, sending him into the a🌃rms of Gresini Honda, while Abe couldn’t break the t🎃op six.

Ruben Xaus became the first of several big name former World Superbike stars to join Tech3 in 2005, alo🌞ngside Toni Elias, but it would mark the start of a three-year podium drought (not helped by a switch to Dunlop tyres for 2006 and 2007).

Silverware returned to Tech3 in 2008 when the teams fifth all-new rider lဣine-up in as many seasons saw Colin Edwards, pushed out of the factory Yamaha team by the arrival of Jorge Lorenzo, claim third place at Le Mans and again at Assen.

Alongside Edwards was another WorldSBK champion, James Toseland, who impressed with six sixth-places in his rookie grand prix campaign. Both were retained for 2009, when a surprise switch of crew chiefs, instigated by Toseland, strained the team’s a✨tmosphere.

Edwards came out on top with a runner-up finish on his way to matching Nakano’s fifth in the world chamᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚpionship from 2001, while Toseland lost ground for 14th and lost his 2010 seat to newly crowned WorldSBK champion Ben Spies.

Spies kept Tech3’s podium run alive by spraying champagne in Silverstone and India💝napolis, before being fast-tracked to the factory team, but Edwards didn’t manage better than♌ a fifth place.

The Texan, now joined by another WorldSBK star in the form of Cal Crutchlow, was b🍒ack on the podium for what would be the final time in his grand prix career at Silverstone 2011.

Edwards was replaced by Repsol Honda reject Andrea Do♐vizioso for 2012, the unassuming Italian relaunching his MotoGP career with a Tech3 record 🃏of six podiums and fourth in the world championship. 

Crutchlow also took h🍎is first podiums during a memorable season for the French squad, which finished behind only Repsol Honda and Yamaha Factory Racing in the teams’ championship.

With Dovi tempted by Ducati for 2013, Crutchlow steppe🔯d up to team 🌟leader and came close to matching the Italian’s heroics with four podiums and fifth in the world championship. The Englishman then left to rejoin Dovizioso as a factory Ducati rider.

After a steadily improving rookie season, Bradley Smith, promoted from Tech♑3’s Moto2 team to join Crutchlow for 2012, surprised by fending off the challenge of reigning Moto2 champion Pol Espargaro - and taking a podium - during 2013.

T🌺he Smith-Espargaro partnership continued for♑ three seasons, Smith peaking with sixth in the 2015 standings and Espargaro eighth in 2016, before both were signed for the new KTM MotoGP team.

In th🍷eir place came rookies Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger, the Frenchman dazzling from his Qatar debut, taking three podiums and getting within inches of a Tech3 🅺MotoGP victory in the Valencia finale.

Folger’s MotoGP career was already effectively over by that point with the German, who battl꧟ed Marc Marquez on his w𝔍ay to a home podium at Sachsenring, suddenly withdrawing due to health issues on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Poncharal kept hoping Folger would be fit to return in 2018 but anot൩her last-minute phone call from the young German announced the end of his full-time grand prix career and sent Tech3 scrambling for a replacement.

Hafizh Syahrin was plucked from Moto2 to make history as Malaysia’s first MotoGP rider and, against the expectations of many, performed solidly. Meanwhile, Zarco retained sixth place in the world championship with three more podium𓆉s during Tech3’s final season on Yamaha machinery.

While Zarco was heading for the factory🦩 KTM team, Poncharal had surprised the paddock by signing to become the Austrian ma🥃nufacturer’s satellite squad from 2019.

It didn’t start well, with Syahrin and new team-mate Miguel Oliveira often struggling just to score points, but🧸 the Portuguese made a big step for the 2020 covid season, storming to Tech3’s first MotoGP victory in a final turn showdown in Austria then repeating the feat at his home Portimao finale.

Oliveira then headed to the factory KTM team for 2021, when Ducati race winner Danilo Petrucci arrived at Tech3 alongside Iker Lecuona, a best of ninth in his rook𝓀ie 2020 season.

Petrucci never felt comfortable on a bike designed for mไuch smaller riders, but provided the team’s main highlight with fifth in theꦐ wet at Le Mans. Lecuona took a best of sixth in even more bizarre weather conditions in Austria, where both learned that they would lose their seats for 2022.

Poncharal appeared uneasy at the way the KTM rider decisions were announced, mid-session, but the factory felt they had little choice but ꦇto promote both of their Moto2 stars, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez, first and second in the standings.

2022 would be a miserable season for both, Fernandez being released to join RNF in 2023 while Gar🧸dner was upset to find out his services were not required for the new look GASGAS Tech3 project.

The experienced Pol💝 Espargaro was hired to headline the GASGAS rebranding, thus returning to KTM machinery after two miserable seasons at Repsol Honda.

But although Oliveira (replaced by Jack Miller at the factory team) turned down KTMꦕ’s offer of the other Tech3 seat, the factory’s new Moto2 champion Aꦰugusto Fernandez was then hired in place of Gardner.

2023 also saw Po🅘ncharal hand over team manager duties to long-time Tech3 employee Nicolas Goyonꦗ, while remaining as team principal (and president of IRTA).

Espargaro’s season was ruined by a nasty accident during practice for the Port🍰imao opener, when he hit an unprotected barrier and suffered ten fractures to his back, neck, ribs and jaw.

The extensive damage meant Espargaro was 1.5cm shorter w𓆉hen he returned to the paddock after the summer break, by which time KTM was trying to resolve a five-riders/four seats conundrum for 2024.

Rising s🍷tar Pedro Acosta was no🔯w on his way to the Moto2 title and had no intention of staying for a title defence. Espargaro’s injuries made him the obvious candidate to step down to test and wild-card duties, but it took a lot of persuading before he finally agreed.

While Espargaro was sidelined and re🃏placed by KTM test rider and former Tech3 racer Folger, Augusto Fernandez delighted the team with a fighting fourth place at Le Mans. However, he would make only two further top-ten appearances.

Acosta lived up to much of the hype in 2024, delivering Tech3’s best season in over a decade with nine podiums (GP and Sprint💯s), a pole position and 13 laps in the race lead. The only thing missing was a race victory, which Acosta fought for on several occasions only to miss out due to incidents, technical issues and accidents.

A braking problem at the Barcelona finale caused Acos෴ta to lose fifth in the world championship and top non-Ducati to future factory KTM team-mate Brad Binder💮.

Acosta's promotion to the official team for 2025 was a formality following his early season heroics, which soon saw him leading the KTM chal🐎lenge. Also obvious was that team-mate Fernandez was unlikely to get a new contract, struggling badly on the new carbon fibre chassis.

However, it was a major surprise when, instead of Acosta𒆙 swapping places with Jack Miller, KTM announced the twin Tech3 signings of not only Ducati's Enea Bastianini (rumoured) but fellow multiple MotoGP race winner Maverick Vinales in tꦕhe aftermath of Mugello.

Acosta's𓃲 success - and factory support - as a Tech3 rider had been a ma꧂jor factor in signing both Bastianini and Vinales for what will be one of Tech3's strongest MotoGP rider line-ups.