KTM has had a plethora of riders come through its system since the Austrian brand entered the MotoGP class back in 2017. The factory lineup has seen Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith, Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and now Jack Miller, while the likes of Iker Lecuona, Hafizh Syahrin, Danilo Petrucci, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez have all spent time in their satellite squad. And yet, despite the somewhat rotating doors-esque nature of their two premier class teams, their testing setup has remained somewhat stable throughout.
Mika Kallio was brought into the project in its early infancy and has had the role of test rider since the end of 2016. The Finn has stepped in for wildcard races and replacement rides ever since, and was often the rider spotted doing the most laps and the longest runs during pre-season tests. It was only in 2021 when they brought in Dani Pedrosa that KTM finally began the process of future-proofing their MotoGP setup.
See, while Kallio has done phenomenal work for the KTM project, he’s also over 40 years of age and unlikely to continue racing these seriously powerful bikes for a whole lot longer. Pedrosa stepping in meant two key things: One, that KTM had a fallback for when Kallio eventually hangs his leathers up for the last time; and two, they could count on his lengthy experience as a MotoGP rider to help push the manufacturer to new heights. There was a plan afoot, a plan that likely meant we would continue to see KTMs on the MotoGP grid for many years to come.
Enter Jonas Folger. The German is the most recent signing for KTM’s testing team, having been confirmed in recent weeks to be debuting for them at the Shakedown test in Sepang. Folger is another ex-MotoGP racer to add to the wealth of knowledge available to KTM, and though some people won’t be all that familiar with his history in the sport, it represents a big step in KTM’s mentality for the future.
Folger stepped up to the MotoGP class back in 2017 in a rookie class that included teammate Johann Zarco, Alex Rins and Sam Lowes, who would later return to Moto2 after a disastrous debut season. Folger signed on with Tech3 Yamaha, one of the most successful satellite teams at the time, and while Zarco immediately got to grips with the machine and began making podium appearances it took the German rider a little longer to figure his bike out. Top 8’s began coming more and more easily, and his season came to a crux at his home grand prix in Germany.
Few riders have ever been able to mount a serious challenge against Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring. It has long been a citadel for the 8-time champion, a circuit he was comfortably better than his competitors at regardless of the year or the weather. Despite this, Folger and Marquez went toe-to-toe at the 2017 German grand prix in a duel that lasted the majority of the race. The battle was fierce, and the local fans were raving all throughout as their local hero swapped blows with a true titan of the sport. Marc won out in the end, but Folger made his mark on the sport as a rookie who could race alongside one of the best.
Unfortunately, we never got to see Folger’s career continue to bloom. He would be diagnosed with Gilbert’s syndrome later in the season, and the liver condition ended up forcing him to call time on his career in the class. He has made brief appearances in Moto2 and WSBK but never found the form he had shown previously, and faded from the limelight somewhat. Now, he makes his return to MotoGP machinery after almost six years.
A couple of things are worth noting here. Firstly, with Folger’s experience onboard a Yamaha, KTM can now call upon its test riders for knowledge on three different MotoGP brands – Kallio for Ducati and Pedrosa for Honda, respectively. This kind of knowledge, even though it’s somewhat dated in all three cases, is critical for the success of a younger brand such as KTM. With blueprints to success available to them, the test riders can use their knowledge to help innovate and improve KTM’s package to match the level of its competitors.
Secondly, there’s Folgers age. The German rider is 29, around a decade younger than his fellow testing counterparts, and can therefore be relied upon to provide assistance for many years to come. When Kallio does step away, and when Pedrosa follows suit, KTM can be certain that they will still have a talented rider on their books to aid in development and help push their bike to greater levels of success.
Why is this relevant? Because KTM have a bright future ahead of them if they can maintain their current trajectory. Brad Binder has finished sixth in back-to-back MotoGP championships despite a lack of victories, and will be looking to continue his climb up the rankings with the Austrian brand. There’s also the small matter of Pedro Acosta sitting in the wings in Moto2 – when he is deemed ready for MotoGP, KTM will want to have a seat ready for him on board a competitive RC16 to keep the superstar teenager within their fold. To gain a rider with such a promising future, they will need to prove that their future is equally as bright.
And therein lies the reason Folger is such an important signing for the KTM MotoGP project. With KTM-branded bikes up and down the Moto2 and Moto3 grids, the Austrian brand has young talent in spades, but their current MotoGP project has yet to bear real fruits. With older riders in their test team they can continue to develop and design up until a certain point, but a younger rider like Folger joining the team means they can be confident when dealing with contracts for junior riders and teams. Genuine targets like Acosta will be able to see the future plans of the company, which in turn will make them more likely to want to sign on for a MotoGP contract.
It likely won’t be immediately visible, but given time and patience Folger’s signing with KTM could end up changing the trajectory of the brand for the better. It’s a long shot – but arguably, one they absolutely had to take.
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