Francesco Guidotti is the new team manager in KTM’s MotoGP project: The ex-team boss of Pramac-Ducati has a variety of tasks waiting for him at the Orange
A fresh wind is blowing in the team management at KTM for the 2022 MotoGP season: Francesco Guidotti has been hired by Pramac Racing as the new team manager and thus succeeds Mike Leitner. This is also accompanied by changes in the organisational structure of the Orange team.
Guidotti brings a different background to his predecessor Leitner. The Austrian had his strengths mainly in the technical area. Guidotti, on the other hand, proved his human and organisational leadership qualities at Pramac and is now expected to work on the right levers at KTM. “I’m not a superman, and I never will be,” he emphasises in view of the many tasks that await him.
But on the sidelines of KTM’s MotoGP launch, he also talks a lot about a “new challenge” and “new motivation”. Guidotti is considered a homecomer: between 2006 and 2009 he was already pulling the strings in the background at KTM and was jointly responsible for the entries in the 125cc and 250cc categories.
Guidotti has to keep things together at KTM
But what exactly is he doing at KTM now? “They have clearly asked to keep the shop together. It’s a huge squad. We have more than 40 people. We have to support the two riders in the best possible way and help the Tech 3 team to bring the two rookies up. This is a huge project and they need someone to hold it all together,” he explains.
“Everyone has their own problems. Under pressure, these things can be potentiated. So they need a person who calms everyone down, under whom everyone feels comfortable, to have the right atmosphere, to stay focused on the races and the practices, to keep the riders focused on their goals. That’s important and that’s why I’m here. “
“In the past, a team was two, three people. With the driver, maybe four. It was easy to keep everyone together. Now there are ten times as many of us. We need someone to manage these issues. Not only on the human side, but also on the sporting side of racing,” Guidotti continued.
Special attention will be paid to the factory team around Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira. “The priority is to get the best out of the two factory riders. But that doesn’t mean I can neglect everything else. Of course, when you have to do a lot of things, you have to prioritise,” Guidotti stressed.
New motivation through return to KTM
The new team manager at KTM, however, doesn’t believe he needs to change much to achieve the success he wants: “There are a few things that need to be better coordinated. There are a few things that need to be done better, but just with a little more organisation. There are a lot of people in the right positions. Now we all have to go in the same direction. “
Guidotti also knows Ducati well through his long-standing position as team principal at Pramac Racing. But he finds it difficult to make comparisons between the Orange and the Red. After his first days back at KTM, however, he can already judge that the way of working is “completely different” from that at Ducati. However, he can’t take “any technical expertise” with him, but “only bring in my personal experience and try to make the step that KTM is still missing.
Guidotti also knows Ducati well through his long-standing position as team boss at Pramac Racing. But he finds it difficult to make comparisons between the Orange and the Red. After his first days back at KTM, however, he can already judge that the way of working is “completely different” from that at Ducati. However, he can “not take any technical expertise” with him, but “only bring in my personal experience and try to make the step that KTM is still missing”.
