HOFER JOINS KTM FULL TIME
K
TM’s latest full-time MXGP signing might
just be 17, but he’s already put in an
impressive debut year on a KTM as a
wildcard entry to secure a full-time spot with
Team Tangerine.
Rene Hofer will join Red Bull KTM as a full-time
Grand Prix rider in 2020 after just his first full
year of competition with the KTM 250 SX-F. The
Austrian will give KTM factory presence in the
MX2 class alongside Tom Vialle next season with
double world champion Jorge Prado joining the
MXGP category with Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey
Herlings.
The teenager (who will turn 18 in the first days
of 2020) is a former FIM Junior and European
Champion and has risen through the ranks. He
won EMX125 European Championship races in
2018 and was a contender for the title until a
mid-season injury. Hofer claimed a podium finish
and classified fourth in the EMX250 standings at
his first attempt with the KTM 250 SX-F in 2019.
The rider from Linz joined the Grand Prix team
for three appearances this summer; taking his
first FIM world championship points in the Czech
Republic and then scoring 7th place overall at the
Grand Prix of Italy at Imola. This weekend he will
represent Team Austria as one of the three best
racers from his country for the 73rd Motocross
of Nations at the TT Circuit Assen.
KIWI RIDER 17