Tech3 turned ‘orange’ for 2019 where they helped promising rookie Miguel Oliveira impress with several top ten results. The team and the Portuguese star were able to graduate to the role of Grand Prix winners in 2020 when Oliveira triumphed in Austria and Portugal: bringing Tech3 their first garlands in the premier class.
The 2021 season marks exactly twenty years since the team first entered the premier class of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship. Tech3 was founded in 1990 and enjoyed title success in the old 250cc category before making the jump. They have had representation through the Grand Prix divisions but didn’t scale the heights of MotoGP until Oliveira’s breakthrough achievement last summer.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “We are very proud to make this announcement of a new five-year deal with Tech3. It is a very important strategic move for us as part of our long-term strategy in the sport. We already agreed our participation with Dorna for another five years and it was vital to have that foundation and stability in MotoGP by renewing our agreement with Tech3. For the last few years we have been building-up our structure and now it provides an incredible path from Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Moto3, Moto2 and then four valuable places in the premier class where we want to succeed. With Hervé and the Tech3 crew we have the ideal partner and we see the whole operation as part of ‘one team’. It’s more than a pleasure to say we’ll be able to attack the next five years together.”
Hervé Poncharal, Team Principal, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing: “I feel very proud, very privileged and very honored to announce our renewed partnership with KTM. I think we will be the first independent team to announce a five years agreement with a manufacturer in MotoGP history. This is quite an achievement and it also highlights how strong our relationship is and how well the first three years of our partnership have been working. I believe the best is yet to come. We share the same values, the same target, which is to never give up and be ready to race. So now that this deal is done, signed, confirmed, let’s work even harder on the 2021 season and of course let’s think how to be best prepared for 2022. I really believe this organization has all the ingredients to be winning and it’s just up to us to put all the pieces together to make it work and chase victory at every single round.”
Pictured from left to right: Jens Hainbach, Mike Leitner, Heinz Kinigadner, Pit Beirer, Hubert Trunkenpolz, Hervé Poncharal and Stefan Pierer