KTM finally has permission to open its MotoGP engines and pull out the faulty parts that have been shutting its RC16s down mid-race. It just cannot do it this weekend.
"We can confirm that we have received the necessary approval to proceed with the corrective measures related to the technical matter we have been managing," a KTM statement provided to Crash.net read. "We aim to implement these measures as soon as possible. For Silverstone, we will continue with the interim solutions currently in place."
Those interim solutions cost engine performance, and the timing is awkward. The fix is now targeted for Aragon later this month, which leaves KTM racing the British Grand Prix on a detuned package at a circuit that was never going to flatter it anyway.
Pedro Acosta, tenth in Friday practice and a full second off Marco Bezzecchi's record lap, was not about to pretend the repair is a silver bullet.
"Sure, we have some [engine] limitations after the problems that all KTMs were having in Barcelona," Acosta said at Silverstone. "That is clear because in Barcelona we were not super slow. And remember how slow we were [next time] in Mugello. Sure, it's missing some performance, but nothing that will give us three tenths."
The root cause is now public. KTM motorsport director Pit Beirer told Speedweek.com during the break that the failures traced back to a supplier, not a design error. "We eventually discovered that we were using high-stress parts in the powertrain which did not meet the specified quality standards," Beirer said. "These critical engine components failed under certain conditions. These are components from a supplier, and having investigated the cause, we can now also rule out the possibility that this damage would occur with 'correct' parts."
"KTM has not decided to be in this situation. It was a supplier issue, and they dealt with it very well, in my opinion," Steiner said on Friday morning. "It was very personal to him. He really wanted to fix this, because obviously it was a big issue. And I think they found the fix, so hopefully it's all good now. Thanks also to all the other manufacturers; they worked with KTM, so that KTM could get a fix at not too high cost."
The stakes were never just points. One of those shutdowns struck Acosta while he led the Catalan Grand Prix in May, and the resulting accident collected Alex Marquez, who was following closely behind.
Acosta still believes the season is salvageable. "KTM is working super hard to make it not happen, all the mistakes that we were having during the first part of the season, because at the end we are not that far from the top three," he said. "They, and I, am quite convinced also that top three is still realistic, if we don't make many mistakes from my side and from the technical side. For this, now it's a matter of collecting points, don't make a disaster in the bad days and make good races when it's the moment."
He is seventh in the championship, 42 points behind third-placed Bezzecchi, and he fell twice on Friday while holding on to a direct Q2 slot. "We knew that this track was going to be tough for my style and the bike, and last year we qualified 14th," he said. "Normally I don't have this kind of, I would call it chatter. And being honest, it surprised me."
Ducati's own restart was no cleaner. Pecco Bagnaia was 13th in Practice, dumped into Q1 alongside Franco Morbidelli and Iker Lecuona, after crashing at Turn 6 on his second time attack. His diagnosis was depressingly familiar.
"I'm struggling a lot to stop the bike and I just tried to brake harder and I lost it," Bagnaia said. Asked about the visible front-end vibration, he replied: "A lot. The bike is not stopping, or the rear is in the air or the rear is pushing. We need to find a balance and it's quite difficult, but it is what it is. Other riders with the same bike are faster, so I will try to see the data of the others and see if we can make something to improve."
That last line is the whole problem. Bagnaia had arm pump surgery days after the German Grand Prix and rode just twice before Silverstone, describing a break in which he had "four days of rest and every day in the gym was intense". He even floated painkillers for the weekend. But the Desmosedici's refusal to stop is not an arm problem, and his team-mate's sixth place proves it.
Two of the three riders best placed to disrupt Aprilia's momentum arrived at Silverstone with the same answer: the hardware is not right yet, and the repair date is somewhere else on the calendar.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/ktm-wins-engine-reprieve-too-late-for-silverstone-as-bagnaia-stalls). Visit for full coverage.*