KTM introduces official 2016 Supercross teams and launches new Factory Edition models

Supercross Announcement

For 2016 the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team will concentrate on the 450 Supercross and Motocross classes, while last night saw the unveiling of the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team as the official 250 factory effort for both indoors and outdoors. All team members were present and following a presentation including interviews with each rider as well as racing mastermind Roger De Coster, who explained the plan for the next year, the racers put on a special show under the floodlights around the KTM Supercross test track. 

Following on from an outstanding season where he clinched KTM’s first ever AMA 450 Supercross World Championship title as well as his third AMA 450 Motocross title, Ryan Dungey will once again spearhead KTM’s campaign in the bigger capacity class aboard his KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team. Joining him will be Dean Wilson, who has suffered with injury during the last year, but so far has had a strong off-season and is excited to line-up for the forthcoming indoor series in January, having missed most of last year’s Supercross and the majority of outdoor events. 

Stepping up into the big class is Marvin Musquin who won the East 250 Supercross championship in 2015, and narrowly missed out on the outdoor series win after an exciting season. Musquin is looking forward to his 450 rookie season, and despite having recent surgery to his hand, the former World Champion is already underway with his preparations, although it’s not clear whether he will be 100% fit for the first round of Supercross in January. 

With the announcement that the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team will take over the reins for the 250 factory effort, it is an exciting time for Troy Lee and his squad. The team will race both the East and West 250 Supercross championships as an official factory entry for KTM. While it’s not yet decided who in the team will race each championship, the KTM squad will field a strong team of five riders. This includes Jessy Nelson, who was a Supercross main event winner for the first time in 2015, Justin Hill who moves into the Troy Lee outfit and is looking forward to getting going after a tough season this year, along with the recovering Shane McElrath, who is currently suffering from a wrist injury. The team will also field young-gun Alexander Frye, who steps up from the Orange Brigade KTM squad to learn and progress, along with the promising Mitchell Oldenburg. 

In addition to the evening’s excitement, the new 2016 KTM Factory Edition models were unveiled with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team graphics on the KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition, and the Troy Lee Designs livery on the KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition machine. These extra-special, limited KTM models feature the WP AER 48 fork system, anodized triple clamps and sprocket, uprated muffler - Akrapovič (450) FMF (250), an orange frame, uprated seat cover, D.I.D DirtStar wheel rims, hour meter, as well as other upgrades over the standard models. 

John Hinz (KTM North America Vice-President of Marketing & Product Development): “We had a great event here in southern California to launch the 2016 Factory Edition machines, as well as the official KTM racing teams; the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team for the 450 class, and the new 250 Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team. We set-up some lights and had the riders out on the test track doing some demo laps on their factory machines, which was something a little different for the media to see. It has been a great way to launch our new bikes, as well as the teams ahead of the Supercross season in typical KTM READY TO RACE style, while once again highlighting the importance of Supercross in KTM’s overall international racing plans.” 

Roger De Coster (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager): “We thought it would be good to do something a bit different to launch the new bikes, and it was great to bring the media to the test track, as it was something a little special with the floodlights, an idea that came from KTM North America President, John-Erik (Burleson). Talking about the race team so far our off-season has gone well, and the preparations are well underway before the first race next month. Setting wise I am confident we are close to where we need to be, and the changes to the bike are much smaller than last year, as it’s an evolution model rather than a brand new machine. Ryan is in very good shape, while Dean also is better prepared going into the new season following a tough year with injuries. Marvin has had some pretty major surgery on his hand, but he’s also ahead of schedule with his recovery, so hopefully he will be close to being fit for Anaheim 1. It’s also great to announce Troy Lee Designs as the official factory team, as it means we can have a dedicated team focused on the 250 class. We are very excited about the future and are looking forward to the new year.” 

Troy Lee (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Owner): “I am so proud and excited to be the 250 factory team for KTM. It’s a dream come true, and I never thought it would go this far, but every year we try to be better and better, so this really is something special. I have some amazing employees I’d like to thank, and KTM is like family to us, which is awesome. It’s so cool to go race East Coast as well as the West Coast, and of course to have the KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition in TLD colors in the stores is just amazing. We have a good line-up of riders, and although it’s a big shame Shane got hurt a few weeks ago, we are looking forward to the season, and also bringing on some young riders too. It’s like Christmas every day for me at the minute as everything is finalized and we’ve got some great sponsors onboard.” 

supercrosslive.com
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