Interviewing Stefan Everts on KTM Factory Junior Team followed by visit to KTM Headquarters interviewing KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer and MX2 Team Manager Dirk Gruebel is most certainly the highlight of my Media career.
Visiting Stefan at the Factory Racing workshop in Belgium where NZ’s Josiah Natzke has been based since April revealed the other side of getting ‘Ready to Race’.
A large workshop with facilities accommodating Junior 125cc riders, and KTM MX 2 riders, Stefan made time available time to speak on the initiative of a centralised base for KTM Junior riders competing in MX Euro.
Most impressive was Stefan’s Team Manager-Trainer relationship that has developed with Josiah enabling NZ’s 16 year old to take all experiences on board inclusive of living away from home, organization and preparation before racing, training, race day guidance and de-brief of results.
It was obvious this was an opportunity of a life-time to be under the guidance of 10x World MX Champion and Josiah has grown immensely in the time with Everts.
The visit to KTM Headquarters in Mattighofen, Austria was an incredible look behind the scenes of Production of KTM Brand and interview with KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer and Team Manager MX2 Dirk Gruebel gave insight on the philosophy behind what makes KTM Brand successful.
Pit Beirer was incredibly open stating passion for KTM Brand, the sport and the riders is the driving force for the people who work at getting ‘Ready to Race’.
From streamline operations in Production Factory producing new bikes every 45 minutes to 2 hours over 17 stations on 4 Lines, to incremental detail on quality control, testing, Research and Development, to pro-active initiatives supporting the development of Junior riders to become future Champions.
Josiah Natzke is highly regarded for what he has achieved on KTM Factory Junior Team. Pit explained in depth: ‘it is not about the result that we want to achieve from Josiah, it is the willingness to put in the work, effort, to train, to fight, to make that line of progress go up’.
Equally Team Manger MX2 Dirk Greubel states development of a KTM Factory Junior Team has shown it was a positive initiative as can be seen by the results. Dirk states: ‘EMX 125cc Overall 1st Jorge Prado, 2nd Josiah Natzke, 4th Conrad Mews under Stefan Everts direction is more than we could of wished for’.
This trip has been a work in progress for the past 9 months. It is the most challenging and yet rewarding experience I have been through for a while.
Up-date with Film Footage.
My thanks to: Stefan Everts, KTM Headquarters, Chris Ritchie for filming.
Words: Sharon Cox
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