KTM all set for success in Road Racing World Championships Talented rider lineup out to impress in 125 and 250 cc classes. The Motorcycle Road Racing Championship is gaining in popularity and prestige and represents a vital and very lively part of the international motor racing calendar. KTM, the company that prides itself on always being “Ready to Race” is fully committed to this dynamic sport knowing that excellence on the race track is a concentrated form of research and development. Winning races on KTM machines means consistently better bikes off the production line for the consumer. The KTM factory team: Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) and Mika Kallio (Finland) in 250 cc and in 125 cc, Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan), Randy Krummenacher (Switzerland) and Stevie Bonsey (USA) is again under the expert guidance of Technical Director Harald Bartol, a man with very clear goals for the 2007 road racing season. “Our aim is clearly to fight within the top group of each category, and to win a world championship, if possible. Koyama is a very strong rider and a top contender in the 125cc class, even though he still needs time to adapt to our team, to be critical and to voice his opinions about the bike. Our chances in the 250 class might be even better, with both riders being proven race winners on our bikes. I am confident that Aoyama will be in the title hunt from the first race on!” Bartol commented. By winning podiums, KTM, now Europe’s second biggest motorcycle manufacturer sends a strong message to lovers of the brand’s sleek machines and also to rival manufacturers. KTM is no longer just a specialist in the offroad sector; it is becoming a tour de force on asphalt as well. Bartol says the team has put in valuable pre-season work on the bikes and expects them to be very competitive. “Apart from the new aerodynamics of our 250cc racer, which we developed in the wind tunnel and which are visibly different to last year’s model, we focused on small details in every area of the bike, on chassis and suspension as much as on engine, carburetion, our fuel injection system and the electronics,” Bartol said in an interview at official pre-season training in Jerez, Spain. It is also no coincidence that the factory teams for the 2007 season include two talented Japanese riders. Hiroshi “Hero” Aoyama has twice ridden his KTM 250 FFR to victory in Japan, sending a strong signal to the Japanese manufacturers and this year he’s after the 250 cc title. New to the 125 cc factory team is his countryman Koyama. An All Japan 125cc champ, Tomoyoshi will be doing his best to make a major contribution to the team efforts in the 2007 season. Mika Kallio, the talented Finnish racer already has two successful orange racing seasons in 125cc – and two vice-championship titles to his name. He now joins Hiroshi in the 250cc class for the 2007 racing season that starts in Qatar (March 10) and concludes in Valencia, Spain (November 4), offering enormous amount of racing pleasure to road racing aficionados all over the world. That KTM is a company always with an eye to the future is clear by the inclusion of two talented young riders in the 125cc class. Swiss Randy Krummenacher and his teammate American Stevie Bonsey both celebrate their 17th birthdays in the early part of 2007, and both aim to finish as often as possible in the points of the 125cc world championships. KTM goes into the 2007 racing season with confidence and the absolute determination to make sure that this year, there will be as many orange podiums as possible.