MotoGP: KTM show off 2018 challenger

The Red Bull KTM duo of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro have unveiled a largely unchanged version – at least cosmetically – of their RC16 machine ahead of the opening round of the 2018 MotoGP championship this weekend in Qatar.

Launching the team at the home of Red Bull’s own private air force, Hanger-7 in Austria’s Salzburg Airport, the pair pulled the covers off a bike that is visually very similar to the brand new machine unveiled last year – but which is almost an entirely new bike under the skin as the factory edges closer and closer to the front of the field.