KTM Motorsport would like to give heartfelt thanks to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager and former world champion Joel Smets as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team undergoes a change of organization for 2027 FIM MXGP.

Smets, who had been part of the race team’s management and advisory staff since 2015, was instrumental in the progression of Grand Prix winners and world champions like Tom Vialle, Jorge Prado and Andrea Adamo as well as helping other former racers compete at the highest level.

The Belgian claimed the last of his own five world titles on KTM SX-F technology and will forever hold a valued place in the company’s world championship motocross story. Smets’ position as Team Manager of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will be filled by Stefan Simpson.

The Austria-based Scotsman has held a crucial development management position directly related to the race team for the last two years. Simpson has been in the sport his whole life and was a former Red Bull KTM mechanic in 2009 and 2010 who has since accumulated over 15 years of technical and R&D experience while being closely connected to the company. He will now oversee the full motocross Grand Prix operation at KTM Motorsports.

The appointment comes as Red Bull KTM look to the future with renewed purpose and with the objective to continue their elite competitiveness in both the MXGP and MX2 divisions. In 2026 the factory crew won Grands Prix with three of their four riders and held both red plates with the KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F motorcycles.

KTM would also like to thank other loyal and hardworking staff that have been part of the MXGP success story since the inception of the current world championship formula in 2004. Confirmation of the full athlete roster for 2027 and beyond will be announced shortly.

Stefan Simpson: “The last fifteen years of my career has been building up to this position. There are some big shoes to fill. I want to thank Robert and Pit for believing in me. It was an opportunity to seize, and I will give it everything. We have a good group of people, and the company are fully behind us for the seasons ahead, so I’m confident. This team has won many titles and we’re already full steam ahead for 2027.”

Robert Jonas, KTM Director Offroad Racing: “As the years pass a race team reinvents itself and the priority for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is to keep the high quality and consistency to regularly fight for world championships. This is something we have done frequently over the years, and it has been thanks to the whole group and the contributions of special people. We now look to 2027 and the approach to another decade with fresh energy but with the same targets. Stefan brings knowledge of the sport and the company but also the KTM mentality to competition and we know the project will be in very good hands.”