KTM has made a decision. Although the Austrian firm has handled different options to complete its line-up of riders for the 2022 MotoGP season, the latest rumors suggest that Raúl Fernández will make the leap to the premier class and will be at the controls of the second KTM RC 16 of the French team Tech 3. In this way, Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira will wear the official colors of the Mattighofen brand, while Remy Gardner and the Spanish Raúl Fernández will compete for Tech 3, leaving Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona out of the equation, current pilots of the Hervé Poncharal formation.
According to different information, the ‘promotion’ of Fernández has already been signed and its announcement will take place at one of the two Grand Prix held at the Red Bull Ring, a logical setting as it is KTM’s home race and its main sponsor’s reference circuit. With only 20 years old, Raúl Fernández will have the option to show his talent on the back of a MotoGP, a talent that he has shown in Moto2, a category in which he has won three races so far. The Madrilenian occupies the second position of the general of the intermediate category, just behind Remy Gardner, his future partner.
In the first moment, KTM and Raúl Fernández had planned to compete one more season in Moto2. However, events have been precipitated and the leaders of the brand have convinced the Madrilenian to compete in the premier class in 2022 before the different scores carried out by Yamaha. A movement that, in addition, promises to shape a kind of domino effect that would take Paco Acosta to the intermediate category. For his part, Iker Lecuona sounds for a possible return to Moto2, while Danilo Petrucci looks like he wants to make a name for himself in off-road motorcycling with eyes on the Dakar.