KTM Motorsport boss Pit Beirer said the new sponsorship deal with Red Bull was signed amid rumors of a “completely crazy” split that claims the drinks company can join Honda.
Red Bull is a title sponsor for KTM and has followed Grand Prix Padoc for over 20 years, after first partnering with the Austrian brand in 2003 at the off-road racing exploit.
In 2025, MotoGP’s KTM team is backed by Red Bull, and energy drinks are important in helping Mark continue his racing activities this year after the major winter financial crisis.
The future of KTM is secured through new majority ownership from Bajaj Auto, so the MotoGP project is expected to continue for the near future.
However, earlier this week, a report was revealed from Gpone, who claims that Red Bull could leave KTM and become Honda’s title partner for next season.
Pitt Baylor now shuts down these rumors and says KTM’s deal with Red Bull has been updated for the “long term.”
“Don’t thank God, and I’m just thinking about it already,” he told MotoGP’s world feed when asked if there was any truth to the Red Bull split rumors.
“In fact, there is much better news than this.
“Just a few days ago, our contract was renewed with them, and this has been a very lasting partnership since 2003, when it started on the off-road side and we were able to bring it to the road racing side.
“And remembering what happened last winter, if I hadn’t had my Red Bull friends, I wouldn’t have been able to live up to all of my projects to that level, continue to perform, win Dakar, win motocross, win Supercross races, perform in MotoGP.
“So our partnership means more than a contract.
“Rumor, I don’t know where they came from, but the contract is renewed and we’re so happy, we haven’t talked about this or that for a year or so. No, it’s a long-term partnership.”
The long-standing title partnership with Honda’s Repsol ended in 2024, with the factory team sponsored by Castrol this year.
KTM has enjoyed a recent boost after much of a difficult campaign in 2025 and has returned to the podium at the Czech Grand Prix.
The RC16 update further improved performance at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Pedroa Costa taking the podium in the sprint and claiming fourth in the Grand Prix.