KTM RC16

The RC16 made its debut as a wildcard entry at the 2016 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix with test rider Mika Kallio.[1] For KTM's return to MotoGP in 2017, their new factory team signed 2009 125cc runner-up, Bradley Smith and the 2013 Moto2 Champion, Pol Espargaró from Monster Yamaha Tech3.[2] Their team principals are Pit Beirer and Aki Ajo who is also Red Bull KTM Ajo's team principal.

On November 18, 2018, the RC16 achieved its first ever podium finish, having finished in 3rd place in the 2018 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix with Pol Espargaró after starting the race from 6th on the grid.[3]

For 2019, Tech3 became KTM's satellite team, fielding Hafizh Syahrin, Miguel Oliveira, and Iker Lecuona who replaced Oliveira at Valencia.[4]

The motorcycle's name derives from KTM's long-standing usage of the "RC" designation (short for "Road/Competition") for its sportbikes, beginning with the RC8, RC 390, and RC 125 production models and also applied since 2012 to the RC250GP Moto3 machine. KTM has not officially confirmed the reasoning for the "16" designation, but it is suspected to be related to the number of valves in the engine (4 valves per cylinder x 4 cylinders), similar to the designation of the V-twin RC8.

Legend

Year	Team	Tyres	Riders		Races																			Rider's standings		Manufacturers' standings
			No.	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Pts	Pos	Pts	Pos
2016	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	M			QAT	ARG	AME	ESP	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL
			36	Mika Kallio																		Ret		0	NC	0	NC
2017	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	M			QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	CZE	AUT	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL
			36	Mika Kallio									16		10			11				Ret		11	24th	69	5th
			38	Bradley Smith	17	15	16	14	13	20	DNS	Ret	14	Ret	18	17	10	19	17	10	12	11		29	21st
			44	Pol Espargaró	16	14	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	18	11	13	9	Ret	11	11	10	11	9	10	Ret		55	17th
2018	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	M			QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	CZE	AUT	GBR	RSM	ARA	THA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL
			36	Mika Kallio				10			Ret		DNS											6	25th	72	5th
			38	Bradley Smith	18	Ret	16	13	14	14	Ret	17	10	Ret	14	C	16	13	15	12	10	15	8	38	18th
			44	Pol Espargaró	Ret	11	13	11	11	11	11	12	Ret	DNS			Ret	DNS	21	12	Ret	Ret	3	51	14th
			76	Loris Baz												C								0	NC
2019	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	M			QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	CZE	AUT	GBR	RSM	ARA	THA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL
			5	Johann Zarco	15	15	13	14	13	17	10	Ret	Ret	14	12	Ret	11							27 (30)	18th	111	5th
			44	Pol Espargaró	12	10	8	13	6	9	7	11	12	11	Ret	9	7	DNS	13	11	12	11	10	100	11th
			82	Mika Kallio														17	Ret	14	Ret	15	12	7	26th
	Red Bull KTM Tech3	M	27	Iker Lecuona																			Ret	0	NC
			55	Hafizh Syahrin	20	16	18	19	14	Ret	Ret	15	16	Ret	Ret	13	15	21	20	19	15	16	15	9	23rd
			88	Miguel Oliveira	17	11	14	18	15	16	12	13	18	13	8	Ret	16	13	16	12	DNS	DNS		33	17th
2020	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	M			THA	AME	ARG	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	GER	NED	FIN	CZE	AUT	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL
			33	Brad Binder																				-*	-*	-*	-*
			44	Pol Espargaró																				-*	-*
	Red Bull KTM Tech3	M	27	Iker Lecuona																				-*	-*
			88	Miguel Oliveira																				-*	-*