Aki Ajo will replace Francesco Guidotti as the Team Manager of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team.
KTM has announced its new Team Manager for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MotoGP Team. After the Indonesian Grand Prix KTM announced that Francesco Guidotti would leave his current role at the end of 2024. A day later KTM announced that Aki Ajo will take over the role in 2025.
Ajo has run the Ajo Motorsport Team in the MotoGP paddock for over two decades. The Finn first linked up with KTM in 2012 with his Moto3 squad. The Ajo Motorsport squad have won three Moto3 Championships with Sandro Cortese (2012), Brad Binder (2016) and Pedro Acosta (2021).
In 2017 the Ajo Motorsport Moto2 squad were first backed by Red Bull KTM. Since then the team have won three Moto2 titles with Remy Gardner (2021), Augusto Fernandez (2022) and Pedro Acosta (2023).
Ajo has worked with both of the 2025 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MotoGP riders in previous years. Binder rode for Ajo between 2015 and 2019, with Acosta riding for Ajo between 2021 and 2023.
Aki Ajo: “It’s an honor to be offered this great new role and opportunity to work in MotoGP with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. At the moment MotoGP is at a very high level so we need to continue to work in many areas and use the strengths that we have to build this KTM package to an even better standard. We need to keep pushing but I think this project already has many good parts to be right at the very top; we have to manage them in the best way. Thank you to Stefan, Hubert, Pit and Jens and everyone in the KTM structure.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “We have a special relationship and a very close collaboration with Aki and so we felt this was the best decision to take the MotoGP project forward. I’ve said it before and will mention it again: he believed in us when we were just getting organized in this paddock, so the trust and the friendship is unmatched.
"His team’s success speaks for itself. He has won titles with both of the riders that will be in the pitbox for 2025 but that knowledge is just part of the skillset he will bring. We know we can count on a lot of pedigree and, of course, Aki knows our company and the way we race. I’m really pleased and proud that we are taking this challenge together and we are continuing a story that began a long time ago and has had so much success and great stories already.”
