KTM Team still committed to winning Canadian championships
Wednesday June 20, 2012. St-Bruno, QC – Worldwide, KTM is pouring everything they have into building the best race teams on the planet. While their efforts have been rewarded with championships in Europe, and wins with Ryan Dungey in AMA Supercross and Motocross, the road to those successes haven’t been easy. Like any good story, there are challenges to overcome.
KTM Canada is the latest arm of the Orange family making a push to become a top tier, in-house racing program. “We are, proudly, the only manufacturer going racing in Canada, corporately. This is what we chose to do,” says KTM’s General Manager, Florian Burguet. “KTM is a racing company and there’s no other way to learn something, than by doing it,” “Of course, we want to win right away, but the main objective here is to develop a racing program that is sustainable and successful over time.”
Even though KTM hired the “best of the best,” in regards to riders, mechanics and bike builders, the KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing Team didn’t expect a fairy tale season. In fact, that’s why KTM loves racing so much; it’s a battle and nothing is given to you.
After three rounds of the CMRC Motocross Nationals, the KTM team is coming together very well. There’s a relaxed but serious attitude in the pits, the bikes are fast and reliable and orange is on the podium every weekend. But as good as second place is, the team is committed to winning.
“It’s not like our guys aren’t getting good results,” says KTM Race Manager, Andy White. “Colton’s [Facciotti] riding with a serious and painful shoulder injury right now. I’m actually shocked that the guy is that hurt and still riding, let alone finishing second and third. I’m very impressed with the heart that Colton’s showing.”
In MX2, KTM’s Jeremy Medaglia took the first moto win of the series but has since finished second in every moto but one.
“Jeremy’s weak point last year was consistency and putting together motos,” says White. “He’s solved that, which is great, but he’s going to need to push a bit harder. I think you’ll see more speed from him in the East; he rides the rough, sandy tracks really well and can also spend more time at home.”
After a shy start in the first two rounds, Facciotti’s MX1 teammate, Dusty Klatt, nailed two big holeshots on his 450 SX-F and led laps in both motos at Calgary. Sadly, crashes in both races dropped him back to 5th overall.
“He was running away from those guys early in both motos and then, just small mistakes. Everybody in the top-5 fell though, and we reminded Dusty of that. I know he’s going to get better and he sounded pretty fired up on Sunday night. He—and the entire KTM team—is ready to do whatever it takes to be up front.”
This Sunday the series visit Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, AB. You can keep of KTM’s Factory racers progress by following their Twitter feeds:
@jeremymedaglia
@coltonfacciotti
@Dustyklatt
@ktmcanadamx
CMRC Motocross Nationals
Wild Rose MX Park – Calgary, Alberta. June 17, 2012
Round 3 of 9
MX1 Pro Class (Moto Finish)
1. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, New York, Yamaha (2-1)
2. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Kawasaki (1-2)
3. Colton Facciotti, St. Thomas, Ontario, KTM (3-3)
4. Tyler Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, Honda (4-5)
5. Dusty Klatt, Campbell River, British Columbia, KTM (6-4)
MX1 Pro Class Championship Standings
1. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Kawasaki – 147
2. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, New York, Yamaha – 125
3. Tyler Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, Honda – 106
4. Colton Facciotti, St. Thomas, Ontario, KTM – 106
5. Tyler Villopoto, Poulsbo, Washington, Kawasaki – 90
6. Dusty Klatt, Campbell River, British Columbia, KTM – 88
Why are the KTM race bikes the best looking in the pits? It’s because of these fine folk:
Red Bull, Royal Distributing, Fox, Dunlop, FMF, Factory Connection, DID, Talon, DUBYA, DT1 Filters, VP Racing Fuels, Acerbis, Cometic Gaskets, T.M. Designworks, Matrix, Motorex, Renthal, GoPro, Shorai Batteries, Mechanix Wear, Magnum, Hinson, All Balls, Four Werx Carbon, Podium Grafix, CL Brakes, SteadyMate, Ride Engineering, Nihilo, Dalton Insurance, Custom Decals, and IMS.