Financial woes casts serious doubt over KTM's future | What does this mean for Pedro Acosta?

The Pierer Mobility Group, owners of KTM, are suffering a financial crisis which puts the future of the company, their brands, staff (and Pedro Acosta) into serious doubt.

I'm no financial expert but, in a nutshell, KTM entered self-administration and have 90 days to restructure their company and make staff redundant to ensure its survival. They are seeking at least 100 million euros in investment to continue operating beyond 2024.

KTM (which also owns other motorcycle brands such as GasGas, CF Moto, Husqvarna and MV Agusta) is in a crisis situation; only today it was announced that staff won't be paid their December wages until after New Year. 

Aside from selling motorcycles to the general public, KTM primarily exists to go racing (after all, their motto is 'Ready to Race'). They compete in the MotoGP world championship and they were the 'best of the rest' in 2024, finishing runners-up in the constructor's standings behind the dominant Ducati. 

Their factory team consists of wonder-kid Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder, while the satellite Tech 3 team have an all-new rider line-up of Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales for the 2025 season. Dani Pedrosa recently signed a new contract to continue as test rider.

As a knock-on effect from the financial crisis, KTM recently announced development of the RC16 MotoGP bike will be paused indefinitely. The other manufacturers (Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha and Honda) will obviously continue to upgrade their machines while KTM stand still, which makes me think KTM's performance will gradually decline as the 2025 season goes on. 

In the long-term, from 2027 onwards the engine capacity of MotoGP bikes will reduce from 1,000cc to 850cc. As other manufacturers start developing their new engines further down the line, it will be interesting to see if KTM follow suit. For example, if KTM is the only manufacturer not working on the new 850cc engine, then that casts serious doubt over their future both as a MotoGP team and as a company.

Then, there's the small matter of their star-boy Pedro Acosta. The 20 year-old is a Moto3 and Moto2 world champion, and he finished on the podium five times en route to 6th-place overall in the MotoGP championship in his rookie campaign. He finished just two points behind the more experienced Brad Binder, who was on a factory KTM while Acosta was on the GasGas-branded satellite Tech 3 KTM. 

Acosta only signed a new contract with KTM in May - at the time there was no indication of any upcoming financial woes and KTM were the most likely manufacturer to challenge Ducati. I'm sure his manager will be exploring all options, whether or not he can get his client out of his contract, however the MotoGP grid for 2025 is full and (as it stands) KTM will be on the grid. 

Image courtesy: motogp.com

I guess, from 2026 onwards, it's likely Acosta will depart KTM unless somebody waves a magic wand and makes the Austrian company's problems disappear in an instant. Ducati is by far the most competitive bike on the grid, so I imagine that's Acosta's first choice, but it will be interesting to see the progress of Aprilia with world champion Jorge Martin on-board. If this new bike/rider combo can consistently challenge (and beat) Ducati then this could entice Acosta. The next few months will be very telling.

KTM have a long history of being successful in both GP and off-road racing, and is a very popular go-to bike for off-road riding. My dad and his mates all ride KTMs and Huskys when they go out enduro riding and on their off-road adventure trips in the UK and across Europe. It would be a huge shame if the worst case scenario were to become a reality. I really hope they survive and continue in years to come. The next 90 days is critical and we will know more afterwards.