Antonio Cairoli becomes Team Manager at Red Bull KTM
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has made a number of strategic changes to the structure of the FIM MXGP World Championship. Chief among these is a new role for MXGP and KTM legend Tony Cairoli, who will take over as team manager for the team.
For 2023, KTM announces that nine-time world champion Tony Cairoli will become Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager. The 37-year-old Cairoli has an exceptional knowledge of the sport, but also of KTM's racing culture and philosophy. He will train and coach a selection of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders and other athletes together with fellow world champion Joel Smets.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing recently celebrated their fourteenth title in the MX2 division with Tom Vialle. With the exception of the 2015 season, the team has claimed at least one MXGP or MX2010 crown every year since 2. Smets has played a major role in Vialle's development, resulting in two world titles.
On the technical side, Vialle's experienced mechanic Harry Norton will take over the role of Team Technical Coordinator, while long-time leader Dirk Gruebel will take on the role of Project Manager for Motocross Development.
Claudio De Carli, the man who guided Cairoli to six world titles between 2010 and 2017, will now oversee KTM's racing efforts as the new Motocross Race Director. The Italian forged an incredibly strong bond with KTM at the start of the last decade, when he helped the factory win its first MXGP title.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will start in 2023 with Jeffrey Herlings (MXGP) and Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts (MX2).
Tony Cairoli, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “2022 was a change for me and now this is a new chapter! It was great to be racing again this year, but it was also positive to take a little step back from racing and look at things in a different way. I really hope that I can bring as much knowledge and passion as possible to this new role. I will have to learn some things, but I have also worked with great people in my career, so I expect to be able to use this experience. We are already thinking about our goals for 2023.”
Pit Beirer, director of KTM Motorsports: “This is the next step in our racing department's vision for motocross and how we want to preserve the brands and organize the best potential in the paddock. It was clear that we could count on Tony's experience and unwavering passion for the sport, just like in 2009 when we first started talking.
The connection with De Carli has been one of the great success stories for us and I am happy that it can develop and continue. It's great to have Joel still in his development role and Harry and Dirk taking on different roles. We have some great drivers and some excellent staff for 2023, so I'm sure we have many exciting times ahead.”
Claudio De Carli, KTM Motocross Race Director: “It feels very special to have this new position and to continue my story with Pit, Robert and the entire KTM group. As many know, we started our partnership over ten years ago now and it was a strong mutual trust that allowed us all to have immediate success and then continue to win in MXGP.
We are now in the transition to the next generation, but we have the best possible foundation. I hope we can keep the motocross division as one of the most productive for KTM and the racing department. We will do our utmost to make that happen in all categories.”
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