Who is GASGAS and why are they going MotoGP racing?

GASGAS is a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer founded in the 1980s that specialized mostly in trials and enduro models. Because trials is such a niche form of riding and competition, the GASGAS brand lived in a bit of obscurity and never really became a household name (especially so here in the United States). The brand’s success in trials, as seen in the vintage video below, built its reputation in other parts of the world, however.

The little-known brand is now fully on the gas after being acquired by Pierer Mobility AG (aka KTM) in 2019. While the trials models continue to be produced in Spain, the expansion of GASGAS off-road and motocross models are now rolled into the Austrian powerhouse that produces all of the KTM and Husqvarna variants, as well. 

Even for the die-hard dirt bikers out there, the GASGAS brand was met with a lot of head scratching. To better ingrain the brand with the motocross and off-road scene, the KTM group did what it does well — go racing. The GASGAS brand was propelled to the top of the headlines when Justin Barcia won the 2021 Supercross opening round on board his Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory Racing MC 450F in Houston. Practically overnight, the GASGAS brand had newfound awareness in the off-road collective. 

The “win on Sunday, sell on Monday'' race marketing slogan has been on the ropes in recent years, with many manufacturers not seeing the desired return on their investments in expensive paddocks like MotoGP (particularly for the U.S. market). But when your brand’s calling card is “Ready to race,” like KTM‘s is, it is hard to walk away from the competition. For many, CEO Stefan Pierer’s famous statement that superbikes making 200 horsepower “have no place on public roads” and the subsequent end of the KTM RC8 sport bike seems like a complete about-face on the whole “go racing to sell motorcycles” strategy. In a completely confounding move, the Pierer Mobility Group almost seems to be doubling down on roadracing anyway with KTM, Husqvarna, and GASGAS teams in Moto 3, KTM and GASGAS teams in Moto2, and now also KTM and GASGAS teams in MotoGP. So, what gives?

Because speculation is my sport, allow me to make a few guesses here. There is a new brand equity equation happening globally in the MotoGP paddock for Pierer Mobility AG. They may not be selling fully faired and winged sport bikes like their competitors in the European and U.S. market, but they sure do like their Duke model lineup. Perhaps more importantly, they are very keen on the emerging motorcycle markets of Asia, where smaller displacement bikes like the KTM Duke and KTM RC 125, 200, and 250 models are picking up steam. For these countries notoriously obsessed with MotoGP, this is a solid business plan. They may not be selling superbikes in these markets, but they don’t need to, and still the best way to leave an impression on these riders is through the spectacle of road racing.

So, why is GASGAS in particular racing in MotoGP, especially when they have little to no street bikes to offer? For one thing, that’s about to change. Though he gave no details, KTM executive Hubert Trunkenpolz said at the MotoGP news conference that GASGAS street bikes are coming.

The other aspect is the desire by Pierer Mobility AG to give its fledgling brand, GASGAS, greater global brand recognition with a spot in the premiere roadracing series in the world. Instead of just having two more KTMs on the grid with the Tech 3 satellite team, why not swap the orange paint for red and diversify the brand equity for the spend?

Perhaps above all, Pierer and the KTM group simply love to go racing. And why shouldn’t they after all the dividends it has paid? The largest marquee brand of the group, KTM, catapulted itself from a no-name in off-road and motocross to a dominant force through its Supercross racing program in the mid-2000s. Since then, the company has expertly woven each new acquisition into various race paddocks and racked up championships and serious sales growth each step of the way. MotoGP is the next challenge, and KTM is taking it on under two banners.