Hand news that Roger DeCoster after 16 years of loyal service American Suzuki Motor Corporation leaves, hit like a bomb this week. The born Brussels resident had ended his contract with Suzuki, but wanted to continue working with them. Suzuki could or wanted to offer De Coster only a one-year contract. Something De Coster had no interest in. As a result, Suzuki and De Coster parted ways within a few weeks. In an interview with the American MX Radio Show DMXS De Coster explained the situation and also said that he had already had exploratory discussions with KTM.
That it KTM is serious, it should be clear. The Austrians have dominated in the world championships last year and fully intend to do the same in the United States from next year. Future and reigning MX2 World Champion, Marvin Musquin will already become a pawn of the KTM USA team. With De Coster at the helm of that team, the transition between the GPs and the AMA would be less abrupt for Musquin. Because Decoster speaks French just like Musquin. That's the only downside for now Mike Alessi is still under contract with KTM USA. And it was precisely this that was brought to Suzuki's door by De Coster at the end of 2008.
Could Alessi and De Coster click at KTM USA?
If KTM wants to attract someone like De Coster to lead their American team, they will more than likely want to spend significant amounts of money to attract a capable leader. The wildest rumors are circulating about the identity of the future leader. Just about every top Supercross or 450 Class rider is mentioned. James Stewart, Christophe Pourcel, Ryan Dungey, Chad Reed, are the names that keep coming back. Although it seems highly unlikely that Stewart would come to KTM, there is still the link between the two: Red Bull. Stewart has been one of the brand's leading American athletes for several years and had to step up at the time Kawasaki against his will the will of Monster Energy undergo.
No one can deny that Christophe Pourcel would also be a good choice for KTM. The Frenchman is only just 22 and is therefore undoubtedly a key player for the future. Collaboration with a fellow linguist also seems to provide additional benefits for him.
With Roger De Coster as a mentor, Ryan Dungey came to fruition.
Ryan Dungey, the man who won two titles in two seasons under the leadership of Roger De Coster, is also under contract with Suzuki in 2011. However, it is rumored that Dungey has had a clause included in his contract stating that if "certain persons" (more than likely De Coster) leave the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, he is also free to resign. If that particular passage were actually in Dungey's contract, the conditions appear to have already been met.
If De Coster in his wake Ian Harrison would take to KTM USA, we may well call it one brain-drain. De Coster is probably the most experienced motocross team manager in the world and has been a South African in recent years engine-builder responsible for the development of Dungey's SX and MX powertrains. Without the guidance of these two crucial people, Dungey seems to have to lose considerable effectiveness. Something he may have to take into account if he stays with Suzuki in 2011. If De Coster and Harrison sign a contract with KTM within a few weeks, the Austrians will have significantly weakened the strongest AMA factory team of recent years with a few strokes of a pen.
The Reed slope doesn't seem like a possibility to us. The Australian has a two-year contract with Monster Energy Kawasaki and it is highly unlikely that KTM (or main sponsor Red Bull) would dig into their pockets in addition to a possibly very lucrative contract in order to make a direct competitor richer. In addition, Reed will have his hands full this fall with promoting and driving his own Super X series in Australia. Because the Australian supercross championship is probably more important to Reed in the longer term, it seems unlikely that he would devote an entire autumn to preparing the KTM SX-F 350 for Supercross.
Should Clément Desalle apply for a Green Card this year?
One of the big winners in this whole potential carousel might be Clément Desalle can be called. If Dungey were to actually move to KTM, there may be no stopping Desalle from crossing the pond. Especially since Rockstar's marketing folks may be impressed by Desalle's guest appearance in Unadilla. If Pourcel, rather than Dungey, moves to KTM USA, this will also increase the Panda's chances of overseas employment. We can assume that in such a case, Desalle's signing fee will be more than sufficient to buy his way out of his current contract with Rockstar Teka Suzuki. And we haven't even wondered to what extent De Coster would want Desalle at KTM USA. If Desalle actually moves to the States in the coming days or weeks, Steve Ramon may extend his contract with the Lommel team.
Will Ken Roczen ride an orange motorcycle next year?
Also the name Ken Roczen regularly falls into the KTM USA story. At first glance this is a rather nonsensical approach, because anyone who reads the AMA Pro Racing regulations knows that Roczen will not be eligible to participate in an AMA Pro competition next year. From 2011, the AMA will raise the minimum age to 18 years. At least that's the plan. Here and there it is suggested that the AMA would receive a reprimand from the FIM, for those who can compete in an MX2 class from 15. The AMA should therefore apply the generally applicable international rules. Again, these are suggestions and not guarantees. A switch from Roczen van Teka Suzuki to Red Bull KTM's MX2 GP team seems more plausible to us. Even if it was only as a stopover before actually taking the step towards America in 2012. We can imagine that Roczen's private sponsor Red Bull, for whom Roczen is just about ideal Poster Boy is, their goldcrest does not like to be associated with a team that is almost synonymous with Rockstar. Even though Teka Suzuki's MX2 team had nothing to do with that last year. Even better, the German management of the Teka Suzuki MX2 team kindly thanked the Austrians for proven sponsorship services just before this season started. According to them, the obligations imposed by Red Bull were not proportional to the sponsorship amounts. The German arm of Teka Suzuki probably made that decision under pressure from Suzuki. But perhaps the Teka clan's refusal will still resonate with Red Bull. To what extent will there still be room for this after a transfer from Roczen? Jeremy Van Horebeek at Red Bull KTM remains to be seen. But if the Brabander is in a team with Roczen and Herlings, he certainly seems to be the one water bearer of both becoming teenagers…
Photo credits: CDS Images, Suzuki Racing
