Mike Leitner and Pit Beirer talked a lot about the future of MotoGP KTM for 2021, confirming rumors about Pol Espargaro moving to Honda HRC, but at the same time they admitted that their desire was to keep Espargaro for 2021.

Despite talking about decisions to be made not after 15^th September, KTM announced his official line-up for 2021, confirming that Pol Espargaro will not stay with them next year and that the deal with Honda seems to be done at this stage.

On the other side, the big news is that Danilo Petrucci moves from Ducati to KTM after the official announcement of Jack Miller as future Factory Ducati rider for 2021. Anyway, there is still a big surprise as Brad Binder has a 2-year contract with the Factory Team and Miguel Oliveira got promoted as his teammate for 2021.

That means Petrucci will ride the Tech3 KTM, racing with the Satellite team. It does not change too much to be honest as the four KTM are the same, but it is still surprising. The Italian will partner Iker Lecuona, who has been confirmed by the Austrian team for 2021 even if the Spaniard rookie did not make any single race this year.

MotoGP grid is a little bit more clear now with this statement and we are just waiting from now on to see Andrea Dovizioso and Pol Espargaro’s future.

Brad Binder: “I’m incredibly excited to be able to have another season on the Red Bull Factory Racing RC16 and I’m really looking forward to getting this year underway and my first MotoGP race under my belt. It’s an honor to have this opportunity and I’m looking at a bright future with KTM and some great times to come.”

Miguel Oliveira: “I’m really happy about this opportunity that KTM have given me for the next two years. I feel that they trust me to show my value as a rider in this project. Since day one I have given my best to the bike and believed in its potential to achieve good results and this is what we want to deliver in the near future. I think we are in the right place to do it, and for me to develop as a rider. It’s a great, great opportunity. We still have to focus on 2020 but I feel grateful for this great challenge. Thanks to the KTM family.”

Iker Lecuona: “I would like to truly thank Red Bull KTM Tech3 for the confidence they are placing in me for their 2021 project. I felt very good with the new RC16 from day one and the bike has really progressed from the configuration we used in the 2019 Valencia race. I think we can make some great races with this machine. Signing for 2021 gives me enough peace of mind to be able to fight for my goal of being Rookie of the Year. I feel like I'm in a great family here."

Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “It gives me great pleasure to stick these four hungry guys together for our MotoGP program. Brad and Miguel have a productive working relationship and have shown the talent and the desire to win races through all stages of Grand Prix. We believe they have the determination necessary to push our MotoGP project forward. The same goes for Red Bull KTM Tech3 where we’re happy to bring Danilo into the family. His experience counts for a lot but we’re also banking on a rider that is committed and with the right attitude. We believe he still has something to show in MotoGP. On one side we are investing in MotoGP front-runners ‘of the future’ but they could easily become stars already in 2021 and that would be exciting to see. We have two set-ups but really it is one big team with all four athletes on the same bikes and with the same possibilities. Our riders’ development and success will be a great KTM story and it will taste even sweeter to take these guys to new heights in such a tough competition.”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “We have two very talented riders in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2021 and we’ve seen in both Moto2 and Moto3 what they are able to do. It’s great to be able to bring both of them through the ranks into MotoGP. Miguel has already made positive first steps in the category and performed so well at Red Bull Ring last year. He was unlucky with the crash at Silverstone because he suffered with his shoulder for the rest of the season. We expect him to have a good championship this year and be even more ready to change set-ups for 2021. For Brad we know his skills and potential as a rider. Of course, he is the rookie but we’ll bring him up to speed in 2020 and help him to learn the category to be stronger for 2021. Right now, we’re looking forward to racing in 2020 and have to thank everyone that managed to make a race calendar happen this summer. We are very confident with our current rider line-up: as we said, Brad will learn, and Pol has a great chance to get some decent results. We cannot wait.”

Herve Poncharal, Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Principal: “Iker Lecuona, the youngest rider on the MotoGP grid at the moment, is going to be with us again in 2021. We are all very happy about that because it was a big move for him to jump on a MotoGP bike and, unfortunately, he hasn’t had a lot of chances yet to show what he can do. Then we will have the pleasure to welcome Mr. Danilo Petrucci with us from 2021. Danilo is a man I respect a lot. He is a ‘normal’ guy, who always say hello to everyone, who has a lot of charisma and a great sense of humor. On top of that – and maybe even more important – he is also a team player and a MotoGP winner. There are four factory Red Bull KTM riders on the grid with the same support, the same equipment and this shows us the support that KTM is giving to the team. I would like to thank Stefan Pierer, Hubert Trunkenpolz and Pit Beirer: these are exciting news and it is an exciting program. We want to do well in 2020 but we are also already impatient to start working with our 2021 crew.”