A star of the orange, star of the magazine

61-year-old former racer and engineer Wolfgang Felber is a thick layer of modern-day KTM fabric. As part of a feature for the forthcoming special edition 70th anniversary KTM magazine, we spoke to Wolfgang about how he has left such a mark on the company. 

By Adam Wheeler

Wolfgang Felber is a name that every orange bleeder should know. PC: Phillip Platzer

Wolfgang Felber’s deep, slow voice lets out a cackle. “Haha! Good question. I don’t remember. I did get some award…” We’ve asked him if his 40 years of service at KTM resulted in a gold watch. After the laugh, he looks a little wistful. “I joined this company – and I will never forget this date – the 15th of March 1982 so it’s now 42 years. I was 20 at the time.”

‘Felber’ is a name that has popped-up quite frequently on the KTM Blog in the last decade. His desk is based in the company’s Motorsport building and he is highly valued for his knowledge and ‘all-round’ balanced view for racing, no matter the series or the tech. He has been pivotal in the chassis development for the MotoGP™ project – the company’s biggest outlay by far – but has also worked extensively through WP Suspension and, in his earlier days, contributed to a number of production models: the unforgettable KTM RC8 was his ‘baby’.

The KTM RC8 R on the track 2010. PC: KTM

We’re speaking to Wolfgang for a special article as part of the 70th anniversary magazine that is available since this summer. Across our half-hour chat he ruminates on the changes at KTM; from bankruptcy to boom, a racing powerhouse with more than 340 FIM titles and Europe’s largest manufacturer. He also tells us about his working relationships with the R&D department that flowered from a small group to almost 1000 experts and then distinguished names in racing, such as Dani Pedrosa, Jeremy McWilliams and more. “To be honest, in my 42 years it seems like the company went from the Middle Ages to modern times,” he says, almost wide-eyed. “All the procedures of work and development tools you have these days; it has all changed dramatically.”

Felber showing off the insides of his baby the RC8 R. PC: KTM

The interview, conducted in the bowels of the KTM Motohall, is wide-ranging and engaging and provides a wonderful human connection to some of the unique and pristinely clean models perched around us. As an engineer it’s clear that MotoGP is still a field that motivates and excites Felber: the march of development, aerodynamics and the endless search for small innovations or high performance-gains activates the brain cells. The process of having an idea, trying it out and anticipating positive results is an old but fresh way of life for the Austrian.

“The truth is that whatever you calculate and simulate may not result necessarily in a proper product,” he tells us. “A motorcycle is such a highly dynamic thing and with analysis you can investigate part of that and how a motorcycle is going through a lap. The final confirmation – the truth – you [only] get on a lap. Many times, I have seen that if something is not working from the beginning or not showing some potential then most of the time [it’s because] you are wrong! The big question is if you launch something or put something on the track is: is it a good baby or a bad baby?”

His extensive knowledge is in demand everywhere, including for the Tech Talks at KTM Motohall alongside Alex Hofmann. PC: KTM

That must also require people to check their egos, right? “You have to do that in this job, and [that goes for] everyone who is in design development. You can be wrong. You can be right…but at the wrong moment! There are plenty of historical examples. The concept of race engine development and cylinders has already been done as far back as 1912 with the 4-valve double cam motors but this idea disappeared for a while because the manufacturing technology was not there to do it properly. It was the right idea but too early! It is also a matter of timing.”

One area that has accelerated in recent years is the aera of aerodynamics. It is the biggest noticeable change on the current KTM RC16. Before the struts and angles appeared more significantly on the fairing shape, the seat and the front end of the race bike, Felber was helping craft the chassis and then the drift to a carbon fiber version that appeared on track for the first time in 2023. “We did a massive concept change in the chassis in 2020 and since then we have done evolution development,” he says. “The concept remained more or less the same.” 

Felber found a competent and willing co-developer for the RC16 in Dani Pedrosa. PC: Rob Gray

The SOS Championship in Straubing, 1990: 'Fewo' was ahead of his teammate Josef Frauenschuh, but two laps later, he lost the race due to technical problems. PC: KTM.

There was an end goal. “It is always work in progress but looking back over these three years, we went in the right direction to make the bike more versatile, more controllable and less demanding for the rider,” he offers. “It was overloaded of course by the aerodynamic development but you have no choice. You have to run as much aerodynamic development as you can because it makes the bike more competitive and faster and it also makes it…I would not say more difficult to control but the riders need to use and control it in a different way. Cleaner; to take the most benefit.”

Having the carbon RC16 was still a sizable step; perhaps the biggest since 2020. “It is a still a similar layout to how the steel frames were but made from the latest spec carbon technology,” he says. “I was supervising and leading the project but there were some very smart guys from KTM Technologies in Salzburg Anif who were the key, or were a big help, because they are already very much into carbon fibre design and manufacturing. This is a good situation at KTM because for most of the tasks you can find someone in the KTM universe who is specialized in this specific field and you can get good help!”

Felber’s acute ability to problem-solve means he is in demand across KTM’s vast racing program. It is another way in which he keeps up to speed and motivated by the challenges of spearheading competitiveness. “For me, coming from the old days, I’m like a chain release!” he smiles on his job role. “I have been involved in development of offroad, road and road racing bikes for the tracks and serial production and I think it is quite good to have some carry-over knowledge from one discipline to the other. It’s only positive. A bike is a bike and if I compare a 450cc motocross bike and a MotoGP bike then the same problems appear. They are overpowered vehicles with so much power that they spin like hell; it’s just that each one has different speed and different grip. The task is always the same: get the power on the ground. The general rule works for different bikes.”

‘Fewo’ is wanted back in the workshop. He says he spends his downtime restoring old project bikes, like the RC8, but he is also working on a rebuild of the 2005 KTM-engined KR MotoGP bike, with some very rare parts to source. A unique motorcycle for a unique guy.

Keep an eye out for KTMs special 70th anniversary magazine LIMITLESS, available in print or digital HERE or at authorized KTM dealers.