Guenther Steiner Leads the Acquisition of the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Team in MotoGP
Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner is leading a group that has acquired the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 team in MotoGP, the two-wheeled equivalent of Formula 1, as announced by the team and the series this Friday.
The operation, which has competed in the premier category since 2001, is valued at approximately 20 million euros (23.4 million dollars). The acquisition will be financed by a group of investors led by IKON Capital.
Steiner will assume the CEO position in 2026. Richard Coleman, with experience in F1 teams and other four-wheeled motorsports, will be the team principal. Hervé Poncharal, current team owner, will move to a consultancy role starting next season.
The team will remain unchanged next year, keeping the staff and its headquarters in France.
This is a fantastic opportunity. Tech 3 is a great team with enormous potential and an impressive legacy.
Guenther Steiner
Steiner also added: “Hervé’s impact on the team and in MotoGP cannot be underestimated, and we are honored to take on and continue building on those foundations. We are excited to be part of the MotoGP paddock and maximize the potential of the team and the sport as it continues to grow, helping to bring it to new audiences.”Red Bull KTM Tech 3 compite en MotoGP, el equivalente de Fórmula 1 de dos ruedas.Before the 2024 F1 season, Steiner was the sole team principal of Haas, overseeing the team’s formation and debut in 2016, in what became an eight-year tenure at the helm of the American team. The Italian residing in North Carolina became a star in the Netflix documentary series “Drive To Survive”.
In July, Liberty Media, owner of F1, completed the acquisition of Dorna Sports, the company that owns the commercial rights to MotoGP, for 4.2 billion euros. The two-wheeled sport has undergone considerable changes in the last two years, with the aim of strengthening its commercial operations. Liberty’s involvement is expected to boost these efforts.
The acquisition of Tech 3 by Steiner marks the first tangible sign of MotoGP’s growth. The last time a top team changed ownership was at the end of 2023, when Trackhouse Racing, based in North Carolina, acquired RNF Aprilia for less than 3 million euros.
Carlos Ezpeleta, Dorna’s sporting director, commented: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Guenther to MotoGP. We are in a great moment for the sport, continuing our growth trajectory, and ready for that to accelerate even more. Tech 3’s legacy speaks for itself, as does Hervé’s contribution to the sport, and this new era is destined to build on that even more, so this is a win-win situation.”
Poncharal founded Tech 3 in 1990 and has been the team’s owner and operator ever since, winning an intermediate class championship with Olivier Jacque in 2000 and two premier class victories in 2020 with Miguel Oliveira. Red Bull KTM Tech 3 riders Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini are in 14th and 15th place, respectively, in the 2025 MotoGP championship.
