KTM tests new 850cc MotoGP engine at Jerez

KTM test rider Pol Espargaro has become a very lucky man after receiving the first opportunity to test the Austrian brand’s new 850cc MotoGP engine at Jerez. 

The private test shows a prototype being used by KTM, as it roars down the start-finish straight. 

KTM already became the first brand to reveal its all-new 850cc MotoGP engine at the beginning of October, before handing the new powertrain its track debut at the Spanish circuit. 

MotoGP teams were previously unable to test their new 850cc engines in a bid to keep costs down, however, that ban was lifted on November 17. 

It’s unclear what else KTM might have been testing, or how many laps it did on the new engine, but what we can say by listening to the video, is that the bike sounds just as good as the current 1,000cc engine.

KTM has not revealed when it will carry out further testing, but it’s unlikely to be long before we see the Mattighofen-based company’s new 850cc engine out on track.

What this clip should also do is squash all rumours of a potential KTM departure from MotoGP, as has been speculated at times due to its recent financial concerns.

The switch from the current 1,000cc power units down to 850cc engines marks one of the biggest changes of its kind that MotoGP has ever produced. 

The change has been made with safety in mind, as well as improving overtaking. Alongside the engine regulation change, MotoGP will also be banning ride-height devices, and stripping back aerodynamics, among other big regulation tweaks.

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