hervé poncharal

The last time a rider left the Red Bull KTM MotoGP team, the resulting reshuffle saw Tech3 lose out on rising star Brad Binder, destined for the French team but reassigned to fill the void left by Johann Zarco.

MotoGP's initial response to the coronavirus crisis will be a technical freeze until the 2022 season , but the cost-cutting measures can't end there.

Senior MotoGP figures are under no illusions about the complexity of holding world championship races in 2020, even after the worst of the coronavirus has passed.

'Moto3's a good challenge and my guys are quite impatient to start working on these beautiful toys' - Herve Poncharal, Tech3.

Star rookie Fabio Quartararo is the rider 'most likely' to challenge Marc Marquez's MotoGP supremacy. That's the opinion of Herve Poncharal, who feels the 20-year-old has already shown he'll go on to become the reigning five-time champion's strongest rival.

Forced to withdraw from the Misano test after just two laps, Red Bull KTM Tech3 are keeping their fingers crossed that Miguel Oliveira's shoulder injury will have improved for this weekend's San Marino MotoGP.

Since Johann Zarco's decision to leave KTM at the end of this season, one of the big questions has been who will replace the Frenchman at the factory team in 2020.

On November 18, in Valencia, Tech3 will take part in its final MotoGP race with Yamaha machinery, ending a 20-year relationship between the French team and Japanese manufacturer.

KTM rarely does things by halves. Just four races into 2018, the Austrian factory’s second season in MotoGP, and next year is already firmly in focus. Not only was test rider Mika Kallio on track with a prototype ’19 RC16 at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hervé Poncharal has claimed Bradley Smith returning to his team in 2019 ‘doesn’t make sense’, and has reiterated his belief that Tech 3 has a role within KTM as a ‘junior MotoGP team’ whereby it will educate younger riders.

The chief executive of Sepang International Circuit has moved to pour cold water on rumours the track is seeking to fund a takeover of an existing MotoGP team for 2019, and said the priority remains for Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin to stay with Tech3 for a second successive season.

‘Normal’ is not an adjective you would associate with a man accustomed to wrestling a 270bhp machine at well over 200mph and whose focus on self-improvement borders on the obsessive.

In light of recent MotoGP showings that saw his satellite rider outperform the decorated factory team, Tech 3 team boss Hervé Poncharal is sure Yamaha will provide him with competitive machinery for 2018, even if he is currently unaware of the exact spec.