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His son Erich Trunkenpolz took charge of the company's management.Īs the company continued to expand, the workforce totalled 400 in 1971, and forty years after it was founded, KTM was offering 42 different models. Two years later in 1962, Hans Trunkenpolz also died of a heart attack. The 1960s also saw the beginning of bicycle production in Mattighofen.Įrnst Kronreif died in 1960. KTM's first moped, named Mecky, was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962 and Comet in 1963. In 1957, KTM built its first sports motorcycle, the Trophy 125cc. In 1956, KTM made its appearance at the International Six Days Trials, where Egon Dornauer won a gold medal on a KTM machine. The company secured its first racing title in the 1954 Austrian 125cc national championship. In 1954, the R125 Tourist was introduced, followed by the Grand Tourist and the scooter Mirabell in 1955. In 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a major shareholder of the company, which was renamed and registered as Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. With just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at a rate of three per day.
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Serial production of the R100 started in 1953. The components of the motorcycle were produced in house, except for the Rotax engines which were made by Fichtel & Sachs. The prototype of his first motorcycle, the R100, was built in 1951. Īfter the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles. During the Second World War, his wife took care of the business which was thriving mainly on account of diesel engine repairs. His shop was known as Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, but the name was unregistered. In 1937, he started selling DKW motorcycles, and Opel cars the following year. In 1934, an Austrian engineer Johann (Hans) Trunkenpolz set up a fitter's and car repair shop in Mattighofen. With people like Francesco, Fabiano Sterlacchini, Hervé Poncharal, Jens Hainbach and Aki Ajo we know we have the best leadership to help us move ahead and make more MotoGP milestones for the company.Hans Trunkenpolz and Ernst Kronreif Early years We wanted to refreshen the MotoGP management structure and we feel that his input and ideas will give us some new momentum for our sixth season on the grid. Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “It’s a pleasure to have Francesco back with us and someone who knows our culture and way to go racing at KTM. I’m very happy to be back and part of this big push for more success.” Now I am able to complete the circle! KTM have always been very ambitious and hungry with their racing programs and we can see that MotoGP is no different it is incredible what they have achieved in such a short time and there is still much we can do.
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For the last decade he has been in control of one of the leading satellite teams in MotoGP before again deciding to lead the orange effort at the pinnacle of the sport.įrancesco Guidotti: “I was a team manager for KTM from 2006-2009 and then took some valuable experience in another series before coming back to MotoGP. The 49-year old Italian from Tuscany oversaw KTM’s Grand Prix entry in the old 125 and 250cc divisions for four years and then departed the world championship for a successful two-season stint in WorldSBK. KTM Factory Racing are pleased to announce that Francesco Guidotti will return to the company and will take the reigns of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad as Team Manager. KTM WELCOME FRANCESCO GUIDOTTI BACK INTO THE MOTOGP FOLD