KTM’s Mixed Messaging: Racing Restricted, Financial Fracas

KTM’s saga of setbacks continues, with news that yes, the company’s racing programs are very much going to be affected by the financial fallout, despite people thinking otherwise. And, reports are that potential investors are indeed lining up to pick over the company’s bankruptcy bones.

In late December, just before Christmas, KTM made a public announcement through its PR channels that it wasn’t going anywhere and that it wasn’t giving up on racing, similar to the messaging it’s been pushing all along through this saga. But as December turns to January, we now see the people actually in charge of KTM’s bankruptcy say the company is not going to renew its MotoGP contract after 2026.

That’s still two seasons away, so a lot can change between now and then, and the fact is that pulling out of MotoGP would come with a fine (as Suzuki experienced a couple of years back), so it’s not terribly shocking to see this playing out the way it is. However, it is a bit more surprising to see KTM is also leaving the FIM’s Hard Enduro series, as dirt bike racing is Team Orange’s aison d’être, and pulling back here will definitely hurt sales. And KTM needs those sales badly, as bankruptcy documents detail a whole year’s worth of bikes backlogged, needing to be sold.

So who is interested in the buying KTM? Bajaj (who already owns nearly half off the shares) and minority partner CFMOTO, along with a Hong Kong-based investment group are all reportedly interested. It’s hard to imagine that Bajaj won’t end up with at least some of the shares, as they’ve wanted a controlling interest in KTM for years. What would that mean for other companies’ keenness in purchasing KTM shares? That’s a bit harder to say.

Or maybe there will be a split-up of the KTM group, with GasGas and Husqvarna going one way, KTM going another. The MV Agusta shares that KTM controlled are already reportedly sold off, so it’s easy to imagine the other brands following suit…