KTM officially introduced its 2017 factory racing teams — including its MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 teams — Monday night in Austria, but the real headline-grabber was KTM CEO Stefan Pierer’s comments about one of their top racing competitors, Honda.
Addressing the large group of attendees, which included journalists, and a live video audience, Pierer said that Honda was KTM’s “most hated competitor” because “Honda is always trying to cheat the regulations…it’s always the same…in Moto3…it’s not necessary…And that’s the reason we like to beat Honda.”
KTM and rider Brad Binder won the 2016 FIM Moto3 World Championship over Honda, Mahindra and Peugeot.
Pierer also pointed out that KTM had won the prestigious Dakar motorcycle off-road rally 16 consecutive times.