13, 15, 16, 17... that's how old the young KTM riders are in the IDM 2010 125 class.
Former Grand Prix winner Peter Ottl and his son Phillip Ottl, who was runner-up in the ADAC Junior Cup. Phillip will compete in the 125 class in 2010.
In addition to ongoing engagement with the
KTM RC8Rs in the Superbike class of the International German Championships (IDM), four KTM two-stroke racing bikes will also compete in the 125 cm3 class in 2010.
With this,
KTM further increases its activity in both road racing and the development of the next generation of top riders. The Austrian brand also continues its role as partner and supplier of bikes to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, which operates at international level, parallel with the
Moto GP events.
Four talented young riders from private teams - with support from KTM's Mattighofen (Austria) factory - will be in the narrow saddle of the KTM RC 125 racer attempting to reap the benefits of the bike that is a direct spin-off of the company's GP two-stroke racing machine.
The youngest rider is the 13-year old Bavarian Philipp Öttl. The son of former Grand Prix winner Peter Öttl celebrated a fantastic entry into the knee slider scene as vice champion of Germany's ADAC Junior Cup. Now he moves up to the IDM with the HP Team to join 15 year-old Swiss racer Damien Raemy. The featherweight school student has already signalled that he wants to be a man of the future with a number of top ten results and an overall 12th position in the 125 class of the IDM.
Meanwhile Team Freudenberg, a successful IDM team for some years and one that is committed to nurturing young talent, has made the switch to the brand from Mattighofen. Both riders are no longer "No Names" in the racing scene. The 17-year-old Daniel Kartheiniger is very familiar with the 125 cc KTM racing machine from his participation in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and team-mate Toni Finsterbusch dreams about a top five finish as well as a wild card entry for the German GP. The 16-year-old school student has been impressive on the IDM track for the Freudenberg team since 2008 and is very motivated to climb onboard the new racing machine.
Following a number of tests of both teams, it will now get serious for the four young racers because the first round of the IDM 2010 gets underway at the Eurospeedway Lausitzring on April 24-25, 2010.
The most popular rider on planet earth? His name is Valentino Rossi and he won the '08 MotoGP Championship.
