Ducati is red, Kawasaki is green, Yamaha is blue… motorcycle manufacturers are creatures of habit and for many it is the colour that signifies a brand, not least KTM which will be associated with a vivid orange to infinity and beyond.
Naturally this is reflected in anything related to brand exercises, so despite Red Bull’s best efforts to get its ubiquitous branding all over the RC16, KTM’s bright MotoGP machines are recognisable from the top of the back straight at Motorland Aragon.
But taking a step for a moment, does a KTM ‘have’ to be orange?
Well, not according to this cheeky render from multiple motocross champion Stefan Everts, who raised a brief titter of excitement by ‘announcing’ his own KTM into MotoGP complete with this very eye-catching livery.
Before you start punching digits into Google frantically to find out if a mystery new team is entering MotoGP, it’s merely a (pretty effective) stunt for publicity…
For some context, since Belgian racer Everts - winner of 101 motocross Grand Prix and a record 10 world championships between 1988 and 2006 - retired he’s turned his attention to developing his own brand of gin named ‘72 Gin’, which in turn wears purple and yellow branding.
It’s hard to overshadow KTM’s paint jobs but this rendition is bright, bold and silly - something you just don’t get in motorcycle racing anymore...
EDIT: Here's one for the MotoGP buffs, when was the last purple livery to race in the premier class. Answers on a postcard... or the comments below.
