KTM RC250R MOTO3 RACER
RACER TEST
P124
ing use of the torque curve – the
same reason everyone runs the
control TC on the lowest setting in
the dry, so as not to be held back
electronically.
But the end result is that the lit-
tle 250 single really motors hard,
all the time accompanied by that
great single-cylinder concerto
from the twin exhausts. Look,
I've been riding and racing four-
stroke singles all my life, and for
sure the factory KTM Moto3 is
the best sounding such 250 I've
yet heard.
Haneka's Rookies bike with its
open mega unencumbered by
any silencer (no noise limit for the
category – so why bother with
one for Moto3?) sounded more
raucous and not as pleasing.
But I had arguably just as much
fun riding this slightly lower spec
bike as I did Salom's mighta-bin-
a-champion factory racer, and for
the same reason. This is acces-
sible performance that requires
heaps of skill as well as bravery
to get the most from – these
bikes corner much faster on
those skinny tires than MotoGP
behemoths do, remember - while
refining your on-track strategy,
and remembering that leading a
tightly-packed group of your ri-
vals over the line to start the last
lap will almost certainly mean you
won't win the race.
Participating in Moto3 and
making full use of the rule book
to build a World title-winning racer
in the RC250R was a typically as-
tute move by Stefan Pierer and his
KTM colleagues, and defeating
Honda twice in a row to win the
World title was icing on the cake.
Will they make it a hat trick of titles
in 2014? Don't bet against it. CN
Cathcart also rode the Red Bull
Rookies KTM. Here he's getting
passed by Danny Kent, which
illustrates the differences between the
front brake and fork on the two bikes.
