Norton Named Red Bull KTM
MXGP Team Manager
S
tepping up from his Techni-
cal Coordinator role, Harry
Norton has assumed the posi-
tion of Team Manager, and
the 29-year-old Australian will
guide the efforts of the crew
and Jeffrey Herlings, Andrea
Adamo, Liam Everts and Sacha
Coenen with KTM 450 SX-F and
KTM 250 SX-F machinery in the
20-round FIM Motocross World
Championship series.
Norton arrived in Austria in
2019 after a long association
with KTM and KTM Australia
in his native country, where he
worked at a local dealership and
then also around the national
racing scene. He forged an
immediately beneficial relation
-
ship with rookie Tom Vialle; the
Frenchman won a Grand Prix
in his first season, and the pair
scooped two MX2 world cham
-
pionships in the following three
years.
Norton assumed an instru-
mental role inside the Red Bull
KTM Factory Racing organiza-
tion and was seen as the natural
successor to Dirk Gruebel in
2023 as Team Technical Co-
Ordinator. The crew underwent
a major revamp with three new
riders and a wholesale reset of
technical staff as KTM looked
to the future. Norton was able
to marshal the squad to a 15th
MX2 crown with the KTM 250
SX-F thanks to the positive first
step with Adamo, and also help
Herlings reach a new all-time
win record of 103 Grand Prix
triumphs in the MXGP category
and with the KTM 450 SX-F.
Norton will take the reins of
the MXGP operation for 2024,
backed by Gruebel, Team Co-
ordinator Valentina Ragni, Team
Trainer Joel Smets and other
figures such as new Technical
Coordinator Stefan Simpson.
"People have asked me how I
feel about this, and the answer
is simply excited," said Norton.
"It was a dream to work for this
team, and to make it as one of
the key figures and to have such
an input into how we go racing is
next level for me. I've had some
of the best possible influences
around me, such as Dirk, Peter
[Tillerkvist], Robert [Jonas] and
Pit [Beirer], and I want to thank
them for their help and for shar-
ing their experience. We've got
another big season ahead and
with the same goals we always
have. We have a strong team,
and we'll work with the same
passion and the same dedica-
tion to achieve what we can."
CN
WIND
IN THE
P38
Harry Norton
(foreground), with
Robert Jonas, Vice
President of Off-
Road Racing, is the
new Red Bull KTM
Factory Racing
Team Manager.
