KTM: Guenther Steiner “wants to stay with us” beyond 2026 MotoGP season

KTM motorsport boss Pit Beirer says new Tech3 MotoGP team owner Guenther Steiner “wants to stay with us” beyond the 2026 season.

Veteran Tech3 team owner and founder Herve Poncharal sold the French squad to a consortium led by ex-Haas Formula 1 chief Steiner for €20 million last year.

As of the start of this year, Poncharal has officially stepped down and handed control of his team over to Steiner.

The takeover comes as Tech3 enters the final year of its current deal with KTM, with all manufacturers yet to agree to a new five-year contract period with Dorna Sports for the 2027-2031 seasons.

Beirer expects those contract talks to continue at pace in the coming weeks, but his priority - and that of Tech3’s - is to continue with his current satellite structure beyond 2026.

“Absolutely, that’s priority number one,” he said when asked if continuing with Tech3 was in the plan.

“I mean, at the moment, there is the situation that no manufacturer has a contract with Dorna [for 2027].

“So, that’s the reason why nobody is doing a deal with a satellite team until the contract situation is clear.

“But, the motivation, I spoke with Guenther Steiner last week, he was in Austria, and he wants to stay with us.

“We want them to stay with us. We work on that. But, at the end of the day, it’s a free market. When contracts are up, it’s normal that everyone is talking to everybody.

“I also understood from Dorna that it’s their highest interest that not one manufacturer will have more teams, and one will end up with only one team.

“So, for the championship, I think it would be for the best if everything just stays stable as it is today.

“And I just can tell you that Tech3 is our wished-for partner going into the future, and I got the same feeling from Guenther.

“That’s what we are working on over the coming weeks. We want a satellite team.

“I think that’s a perfect MotoGP project. You need four bikes.

“I think that’s a perfect number. You are stronger if you have a satellite team, that’s for sure.”