Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1176510
IN THE WIND P20 KTM Introduces 2020 MX/SX Race Teams R ather than just sending out a press release, KTM North America introduced its 2020 supercross/moto- cross race teams in front of the media at its test fa- cility, dubbed "RD Field" (in honor of the compa- ny's Motosports Director Roger DeCoster), near its headquarters in Mur- rieta, California, Friday, October 11. Headlining the event was the two-man Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team made up of return- ing riders Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin, the only real difference is that Webb will wear the number-one plate in Supercross next year. Red Bull KTM Team Manager Ian Harri- son will again lead the team into battle in both AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross. Also on hand was the KTM factory-supported Rocky Moun- tain ATV-MC/WPS KTM Team. The two-rider 450cc squad sees Blake Baggett returning, as he is in a current contract with the team through 2021. The Rocky Mountain KTM Team, however, had a tough de- cision to make as to who would be Baggett's teammate in 2020— previous member Benny Bloss or Justin Bogle. Bloss started the 2019 season with the Rocky Mountain team but suffered an injury that kept him off the bike for much of the season and saw Bogle step in as a fill-in rider. For 2020, the team made the tough decision to go with Bogle who is expected, the team says, to produce high results in 2020. But the team with the most changes is KTM's factory-sup- ported Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM 250 team. The four-rid- er 2020 TLD team will be made up of Brandon Hartranft, Pierce Brown, Derek Drake and French- man Brian Moreau, who comes from the grand prix circuit. At 21 years of age, Hartranft is the "old man" of the squad. Both Drake and Brown have already spent some of their recent ama- teur careers with the TLD crew. The 20-year-old Drake is a long- time member of KTM's Orange Brigade program, and Brown (17) has been aboard KTMs since 2014 and also an Orange Brigade graduate. The acquisition of Moreau, however, is a bit of a surprise. Moreau is the 2017 European 125cc-class champion. "In about May, I got a phone call from [KTM VP of Off-Road] Robert Jonas, one of the main guys at KTM in Europe," ex- plained TLD KTM Team Manager Tyler Keefe. "He basically said here is this kid, he's been real high on him for about a year now, and that he was trying to get a deal for the '19 season but New faces make up the 2020 Troy Lee Designs/ Red Bull KTM Team: (L-R) Brian Moreau, Brandon Hartranft, Tyler Keefe (team manager), Derek Drake and Pierce Brown.