IT’S OFFICIAL! KTM MAKES IT FORMAL; DECOSTER TO KTM

On Sep 5, 2010 Last updated Mar 23, 2014

Press release: KTM, the market leader in offroad motorcycles has signed Roger DeCoster, one of the true icons of the sport of motocross to take over the management of the company’s new factory team in the USA. Work now begins immediately to prepare the team for the 2011 racing season in all of the major US competitions. The signing of DeCoster represents a major step forward in vaulting the Austrian company into the global arena. KTM has already reached the top level of the sport in Europe and the World Championship GP series and will now also be a dominant force in US competition.

KTM CEO Stefan Pierer said the signing represented a new and exciting era for the Austrian-based company: “The acquisition of Roger DeCoster to take over our factory team in the USA heralds a new era for KTM. We now enjoy a worldwide network and we are a real global player. Roger DeCoster is one of the great figures in the sport of motocross and we are delighted that he has agreed to manage our new team. KTM is now “Ready to Race” in the biggest and most competitive motocross competitions in the world.”

Pit Beirer, who heads KTM Offroad Sports Department, said, “We are honored that we can welcome a man of Roger DeCoster’s credentials and stature into the KTM family. With him as the head of our new KTM USA factory team we will be a major force in the USA and Europe and we want to attract the very best American riders into our team. Roger has had a superb racing career and a distinguished and successful career in team management.”

DeCoster said by a live feed to a KTM press conference: “It is a big decision and a difficult one. After 25 years as a rider and team manager with Suzuki, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I believe KTM is a team that is really good for the future of racing. The reason I couldn’t get an agreement with Suzuki is I wanted more than one year and I couldn’t get that with Suzuki, but KTM are very committed about the future and I believe that we are heading through tough times and we need to look forward and work hard and things will turn around. KTM have that motivation and that interest and there is a lot of energy there and with what Stefan has accomplished, I think we should be able to do that also in America. It’s a big challenge, but it makes me feel good and it motivates me. I look forward to working together in October.”