KTM confirms major MotoGP engineering departure amid rival move reports
KTM engine guru is set to join Honda

KTM Motorsport boss Pit Beirer has confirmed that engine guru Kurt Trieb will leave the company following reports Honda has poached him for its MotoGP project.
Following a report in GPOne earlier this month, long-time KTM engine chief Trieb has been widely rumoured to be joining Honda’s MotoGP project ahead of the shift to the 850cc formula in 2027.
Trieb is responsible for building MotoGP’s fastest engine, with the KTM setting a record 227.5mph during the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.
Honda, by contrast, currently has MotoGP’s slowest engine but has already made some radical changes to its engineering department over the last year - most notably bringing in Romano Albesiano from Aprilia as technical director.
While Honda is yet to announce Trieb’s appointment, Beirer confirmed on Friday at the German Grand Prix that he will be leaving and plans have been in place for a while in preparing for this.
“First of all, Kurt is a great friend of all of us, many people in KTM, and was many, many years with us,” he said.
“But sometime ago, when he had his 60th birthday - which was already three years ago - he told me we need to get this department ready for the future without him.
“So, there are so many great people with 20 years of experience working with him, and step by step Kurt gave over responsibility to these guys already.
“So, on that one side we have a fully functioning engine department and the next generation has taken over already.
“But on the other side, it’s no secret that Kurt worked on our engines, he’s a fantastic engine guy and it’s not super nice to lose him.
“But on the other side, I know why and what he’s doing and I can just say that Kurt is a friend of KTM and will stay a friend.
“I don’t know exactly what he does in the future, but we created together with him during the last two years the future without him.
“I’m very thankful that he was also so professional in that case to look for that over a long period. But I think the chances are really big that he is not with us for next year.”
Trieb's departure is the latest high-profile name to quit KTM in recent times, with former technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini joining Aprilia in the winter to replace Honda-bound Albesiano.