Overview
- Factory KTM and Tech3 launched matching Red Bull‑branded RC16s for 2026, confirming Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder at the works team with Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales at Tech3.
- Motorsport director Pit Beirer conceded KTM "hasn't done enough yet" to secure Acosta for 2027 and flagged the Feb. 3–5 Sepang test as the moment to demonstrate winter gains.
- Acosta described the 2026 RC16 as "built from zero," while Binder said there are "a lot more big items" to try after initial improvements at Valencia.
- Tech3 begins a new era under a Guenther Steiner‑led ownership group, with Richard Coleman as team principal, as crew‑chief moves pair Phil Marron with Binder and Andres Madrid with Bastianini.
- Motorex returns as lubricants partner in place of Mobil 1, KTM enters its first full season under Bajaj ownership, and the factory has already privately run 2027‑spec 850cc development while its premier‑class win drought stretches back to 2022.