TITLENEW ORANGE ARMY

THERE IS NO DENYING, THAT FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, KTM HAS BEEN THE BRAND TO BEAT IN THE FIM MX2 MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, WINNING 13 OF THE LAST 15 WORLD TITLES ON OFFER SINCE 2008.

During that same period, the Austrian marque also went 1-2 in the overall standings no fewer than five times, and even recorded a 1-2-3 back in 2013 as well. In short, KTM has become very accustomed to winning, and winning big! But what happens when its star player for the past few years, Tom Vialle, vacates the class for a move across the pond and the team is forced to bring in new blood? This was the dilemma that KTM was faced with heading into the 2023 season, but as we head into the second half of the campaign, things aren’t looking too bad for the new orange army.

Coming into the 2023 season the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX2 Team underwent a major facelift with no fewer than 8 personnel changes, which included three new riders making up its entire racing effort: Andrea Adamo, Liam Everts and Sacha Coenen, and a new team manager in the form of Antonio Cairoli.

In years past, KTM would enter a new season with riders who had either won or placed top three in races, finished on the podium or even won GP’s and world titles, but prior to the opening round in Argentina, only one of KTMs new riders had finished on the podium, when Andrea Adamo placed 2nd overall in Mantova, round two in 2022. Outside of that, Liam Everts had won a couple of EMX125 races and an overall, with Sacha Coenen taking a single race win in Germany in 2021 in EMX125. KTM though has a proven track record in turning relative unknowns into world beater’s, the last of which was Tom Vialle, who KTM plucked from obscurity and went on to win two titles in four years.

Since that opening round in Argentina, this young team has gone from strength to strength. Adamo came away with his second career podium, a 2nd overall thanks to a brace of 3rd place finishes. In Switzerland, round three, he placed 2nd again, and in Trentino, round four, the ‘80’ finally graced the top step of the podium to win his first grand prix with a consistent 2-2. Joining him on the podium that day was his teammate Liam Everts, who took 2nd overall with a 3-3. Four rounds in and the new kids on the block had brought home a 1-2 for KTM and the new team manager, Antonio Cairoli.

Speaking about his new role, and Adamo’s first win, the Sicilian recently commented ‘it’s a new experience for me and I have a lot of things to learn on the management side, but I can learn quickly. For Adamo to win in Trentino was really fantastic and it showed he can really handle the pressure, and that’s a good sign for the championship because (as a rider) you need to deal a lot with this kind of things. Also, for myself, to have another Sicilian guy on the line is something special because it never happened before. He’s doing good and hopefully he can keep this momentum.’

Momentum

From the first four GP’s, Adamo had landed on the podium no fewer than three times, including that memorable victory on home soil at Trentino, and with podiums in Spain and France it was clear that consistency was playing a pivotal role in how the Sicilian’s season was shaping up. And when points leader Jago Geerts fell in the RAM Qualifying Race in France, Adamo was suddenly just one point behind the Belgian, as we headed to Latvia. Suddenly, the role that the point-scoring qualifying races was on full display, and after a disappointing 8th place finish, those 3 points earned were enough to give Adamo his first

Red Plate in MX2. By the end of the weekend though, it was in the hands of Kay De Wolf, the number ‘80’ acknowledging that he wasn’t quite prepared for this scenario.

Since then, whilst it’s not been easy, Adamo has been able to navigate his Red Plate path with a bit more conviction and as we left Lombok, he had increased his lead over Thibault Benistant to 26 points. With a one week break before we resume in Loket, Czech Republic, Adamo will be hoping to maintain his consistency and momentum in order to keep his title hopes on track, something which team manager Cairoli knows will not be easy:

‘So far, he’s doing good, of course when you have the Red Plate it’s never easy, everybody is on you and you can make some small mistakes, but overall, we are happy.’

Out of the Shadows

It’s not just Andrea who is having a great season. Enter Liam Everts. When your grandfather is Harry Everts - a four-time world champion, and your father is the G.O.A.T Stefan Everts with 10 world titles, then growing up wanting to be a racer with the name EVERTS on the back of your race jersey is never going to be easy.

A bronze medal in the EMX85cc European Championship in 2018 behind Camden McLellan and Kay De Wolf was Liam’s first real step on the ladder, and this was followed by 6th overall in the EMX125 championship a year later. By 2020 the ‘72’ was ready for a shot at the EMX125 title, and at the opening round in Matterley Basin, he went 1-1 for his first race wins and overall victory. Injury soon afterwards scuppered his title chances and since then, he was forced to work his way up from the bottom rung of the ladder once more, from EMX250 to where he is now in MX2.

In 2021 he placed 7th in EMX250 with a podium (3rd) at Oss in Holland, and when he moved to MX2 in 2022, a 4th in Spain was his best finish. And yet, because he wasn’t winning races, taking overall victories or standing on the podium, many were quick to suggest that he was biting off more than he could chew, that he wasn’t going to make it and that the burden of the Everts name was maybe just a bit too heavy for him to handle. So, when Red Bull KTM brought him in to the fray for this season, there were a few raised eyebrows to say the least.

But this kid has grown up with this situation all his life, and not once has it seemed like it fazed him. Maybe at the start of this season you might be able to accuse him of wanting it too badly, or tyring too hard - both scenario’s forcing him to make mistakes, but since Portugal, we have really seen him grow into his role as a factory rider. His first podium in Trentino meant he could breathe a huge sigh of relief and upon reflection remembers that ‘I was more happy than Andrea actually! I was so happy; it was such a big weight lifted off my shoulders and it was something very nice and something I will never forget.’

When he landed his second podium (3rd) in France, it helped consolidate that he was worthy of his place on the team, and that he wasn’t there ‘because he was the son of …!’ So, when he won the German GP with a race win in the final race of the day, history had been made once more.

‘It’s very nice to win that first one, I didn’t expect it to come in Teutschenthal; I’ve had a bit of an up and down relationship there. It was nice to get that race win out of the way too; I didn’t expect it, I just got into that situation and in race one actually, I was in 1st for a little while too, and Lucas was behind, but I just sort of cramped up because I’m not used to being in that situation. And then in race two, I think I executed it perfectly. Andrea was close, about four seconds back, and I knew the next three laps would be crucial after Lucas had the bike failure, and that’s what I did. I just managed the gap from that point.’

Did it help that he had had a couple of podiums going into Germany?

‘For sure, because getting that podium (in Trentino), which last year was close but just not making it on a few occasions, getting that out of the way was a big relief already and clicking that off, to know I could do it. And then doing it again in Villars, the next one then was actually winning a GP.’

‘I was not actually so focussed on doing that, was just going racing and getting more experience, seeing every race how it comes just going, going, going and then all of a sudden it came very quick. It was very relieving, especially with the pressure of being a third generation, so it’s nice that it’s lifted.’

And there it is! The mention of being ‘third generation’ has obviously been at the forefront of his mind for so long, but it’s how he has dealt with it that is actually more telling. Even the thought of being world champion this year is not something that is on his radar now he has won a GP. When asked if his goal had shifted, is it possible he could be challenging for the title, is that the goal now?

His response was matter of fact: ‘No! Not at all. I just go at it and, I mean, I’m not saying my job is done; I’m a winners’ type and every weekend I want to go out and win, but that was not my goal coming into the season and it’s not my goal now. If I would even get close to that then that’s only a bonus. I’m just focussing on each weekend as it comes and I’m not looking at that at all.’

As for Cairoli, he acknowledges the history and all that goes with it, and he can see that he has a mature head on young shoulders:

‘Liam has a lot of pressure on him, but finally he started showing up and is going really good. He is a really grown-up kid, he knows what he wants and he does things a lot by himself and if it works, he knows what he wants and his mind is clear. Of course, it helps to have such a big package of help in the background, and if he is smart, he will just take what he needs.’

Making Gains

As for the third rider on the squad, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. It’s very easy to look at Sacha Coenen’s 15th place in the standings and come to the conclusion he’s not cut out for MX2. Add to that his twin brother Lucas has already won a GP in his rookie season and as always, the Negative Nancy’s are quick to stick the boot in. The reality is so much different though. Sacha missed the first four GP’s due to a collarbone injury a week before the opening round in Argentina. When you line up at round five and everybody is already at ‘race speed’ it takes time to find your feet and bring yourself up to that same level. Add to that, it’s his rookie season in MX2 and he’s just 16 yearsold. He’s also not the biggest rider on the grid, in fact he’s maybe one of the smallest.

As a rider though, he is exciting to watch and certainly not scared to find the limit, but that also comes with its downsides where mistakes can be made. There is maybe also the addition of pressure of being in a factory team at such a young age. As for how he deals with that going forward, you only need to look at Joel Smets (5 world titles) and team manager Tony Cairoli (9 titles) for that extra support, if needed. When asked about what advice he’d offered to Sacha to help deal with all those issues, Cairoli recently replied:

Sacha is really young, and we really need to keep him calm a lot of times because he wants to show what his potential is actually, but he is still a little bit too young and too skinny for the bike. We try to help as much as possible, but he’s not an easy guy to fix on the bike, but he is doing really well lately and pretty soon he will be where he deserves to be.’

‘To be honest, (his brother) Lucas is on another level at the moment with the mental and strength and everything, and that’s what we tell Sacha; your time will come. Not everybody arrives learned, as we say in Italy. We know that Sacha’s skills are good, and he has a lot of technique and he is special for the sport. He is amazing and he trains hard, but it will take some time for him to be at the front. He just needs to stay away from injuries, that’s our advice, and enjoy the racing.’

Before the start of the season, Red bull KTM took a huge gamble with three new riders who were maybe not on the radar, but as we saw with Tom Vialle, that’s exactly the way they like it. And so far, that gamble is paying off. As we head to round twelve in Czech Republic, Andrea Adamo enjoys a 26-point lead over his closest rival but more importantly, the Red Plate no longer seems to be the distraction that it was in Latvia.

Liam Everts sits in 5th and between him and Adamo, the ‘80’ and the ‘72’ have picked up 11 podiums, including two wins. If you’d have told Tony Cairoli that at the start of the season, he’d have taken that with both hands. But make no mistake, KTM is here to win; not just races and podiums, but world titles as well, and with Adamo leading, the new orange army is still very much in the hunt to add another title to its already impressive CV.