MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

Happy 2025! With the motorcycle racing year warming up, here's a round up of some of the more significant things to happen over the holiday break. There were more developments around KTM, the sad passing of former WCM owner Bob MacLean, and riders have been speaking to the press.

KTM - EGM convened, control to be ceded?

On the first day of the 2025 financial year, Pierer Mobility AG, the parent company which owns KTM and which is dealing with the insolvency proceedings of three of its subsidiaries - KTM AG, which manufacturers KTM, GASGAS, and Husqvarna motorcycles; R&D arm KTM F&E; and KTM Components - announced it would be calling an extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders. The meeting is to be held on January 27th at its House of Brands HQ in Munderfing, Austria, just south of its Mattighofen base.

The news release gave the reason for the extraordinary general meeting as follows: "new conditional capital is to be created at this general assembly in order to enable the flexible issue of financial instruments by the executive board." What this means in effect is that new shares are to be issued to allow the board to issue new bonds and secure new loans. You can find a longer text in the EGM invitation on the Pierer Mobility website.

Issuing new shares comes with risks, however. Once new shares are issued, Stefan Pierer loses control of Pierer Mobility, and of KTM. He currently has a 50.1% share of Pierer Bajaj AG (Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto holding the other 49.9%), which has a 74.9% share in Pierer Mobility, with 25% of shares traded on the open stock exchange.

The shares are to be issued to the parties buying the bonds issued by Pierer Mobility. We already know that one of the parties interested in extending further finance to Pierer Mobility is Bajaj Auto. If Bajaj buys the Pierer Mobility bonds, and exercises its right to acquire shares as a result, control of Pierer Mobility, and by extension, KTM, would pass to Bajaj.

This has been the most likely outcome since KTM announced it was in financial difficulty. KTM's sizable debts - and 130,000 unsold bikes, with possibly the same number unsold at dealers - have left them needing a bailout. Bajaj already build KTM's 390 models in India, and own a share of the company. Bajaj are also taking their first steps on the European market, launching models in Spain and Portugal. Taking control of KTM would speed up this process enormously.

What does all this mean for KTM Racing?

As I have explained previously, KTM Factory Racing is already a separate and independent company. Although the AKV, the organization representing the creditors, has stated that KTM will pull out of MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 as one of the conditions for approving KTM's insolvency protection plan, people inside KTM are determined to keep KTM's racing operation afloat, according to a report by Motorsport.com.

That will require an injection of capital, or possibly even a change of ownership. If Bajaj gains control of Pierer Mobility through purchases of shares and bonds, then they would be in a position to either sell off Factory Racing completely, or fund it directly, thereby complying with the AKV's demands.

This does not necessarily mean that KTM's circuit racing project is saved. However, it does represent their best hope of salvation. Though there have been reports that F1 driver Lewis Hamilton's management company and Red Bull are interested in buying KTM Racing, it is my understanding that neither party is a serious candidate to actually buy KTM's racing division.

At the moment, all we have is speculation based on the financial documents issued by Pierer Mobility AG. But the extraordinary general meeting should see developments around KTM step up a gear.

Bob MacLean, WCM team co-owner, dies

Bob MacLean, founder of the WCM squad that raced in grand prix from 1991 through 2005, died on December 14, 2024 at his home in Wilson, Wyoming, aged 87. MacLean was a major player throughout the 500cc era, fielding riders such as (now) TNTSport presenter Neil Hodgson, Niall Mackenzie, Garry McCoy, Regis Laconi, John Hopkins, and current MotoGP Race Director Simon Crafar.

WCM achieved some impressive results, winning 500cc grand prix with Garry McCoy and Simon Crafar. McCoy was one of the highlights of the last couple of two-stroke seasons, the Australian famous for spinning the rear to steer his Red Bull Yamaha. MacLean and WCM were also instrumental to bringing John Hopkins to grand prix racing.

Though I never met Bob MacLean personally, I only ever heard good things about him. MacLean founded WCM together with Peter Clifford, currently in charge of the Red Bull Rookies project. Clifford, who has been as unfailingly kind as MacLean was said to be, wrote a brief obituary for Bob MacLean on the Roadracing World website.

The economic impact of a race track

2025 is the centenary of the Dutch TT, the event which has become over the years the Assen round of MotoGP. The 2025 event is the 94th running of the Dutch TT, the race not being held from 1940-1945 during WWII, and in the pandemic year 2020. It is not the centenary of the race at Assen, however, the first edition in 1925 being held over a 28.4 km course between the villages of Rolde, Borger, and Schoonloo to the southeast of the city of Assen. When the council of Borger refused to pave a 2.5km stretch of sand road which formed part of the course, the event was moved to the southwest of Assen in 1926, over a road course between the villages of De Haar, Hooghalen, and Laaghalerveen.

To celebrate the centenary of the event which founded the circuit, a host of special events are planned, both during the year and during the week of the Dutch TT MotoGP round, including a concert during the race weekend, a movie celebrating 100 years of the Dutch TT, and a marathon which starts at the circuit, takes in some of the historic course, and ends in the city.

As part of the centenary, the TT Circuit Assen has also released a report on the economic impact the racetrack has. In 2023, the circuit generated €117 million in economic activity for the region around Assen, mostly in the retail, hotel, and catering sectors. The MotoGP and WorldSBK rounds are responsible for around half that €117 million.

The circuit also directly and indirectly creates jobs for around 1700 people (1000 FTE) in the region. Which also has a positive effect on the region around the circuit, with a survey of people living in the province of Drenthe (of which Assen is the capital) showing that 71% believe that the circuit has a positive impact on the image of the region, 61% saying it has a positive influence on society, and 76% saying it is deeply rooted in local culture. 43% of people in Friesland, Groningen, and Overijssel, the provinces surrounding Drenthe, have visited the circuit at least once, with 24% saying they are regular attendees of the Dutch TT.

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