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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will begin the 2027 season under new leadership: Stefan Simpson has been named team manager of KTM’s Motocross Grand Prix program as Joël Smets steps down from the role he held for the past two seasons. The change closes a long chapter for Smets and signals a fresh organizational approach at the Austrian manufacturer.
Leadership change at the factory
KTM confirmed that Smets will leave his MXGP team-manager duties after more than a decade working in management and rider support for the brand. Starting in 2027, Stefan Simpson will take over responsibility for the factory motocross operation.
Smets’ contribution and recent results
Joël Smets remains one of motocross’s most decorated figures, a five-time world champion who won his final title riding a KTM. He joined the manufacturer in 2015 and has been credited internally with helping develop riders such as Tom Vialle, Jorge Prado and Andrea Adamo into top-level competitors.
Over the last two seasons KTM operated two factory teams: Smets led the Austria-based squad while Davide DeCarli managed a separate operation in Italy. Under Smets’ leadership, the team saw mixed results — Jeffrey Herlings finished fifth in MXGP in 2025 while Simon Längenfelder captured the MX2 championship that year. In 2026, Adamo ended fifth in MXGP without a race win, and Längenfelder’s title defense, which began strongly with multiple early wins and podiums, ultimately concluded with a fifth-place overall finish.
KTM calls it an organizational realignment
The company offered no specific reason beyond describing the move as an internal realignment. Robert Jonas, KTM’s director of off-road racing, framed the decision as part of a repeated effort to refresh the team’s approach while keeping championship targets intact.
“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,” Jonas said. “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.”
Simpson’s pathway to the role
Simpson brings a technical profile to the team-manager position. The Scottish engineer worked as a Red Bull KTM mechanic in 2009 and 2010, then spent more than 15 years in technical development and research roles. For the past two years he has held a senior development post closely connected to the factory squad.
“The past 15 years of my career have prepared me for this position,” Simpson said. He added that the company fully backs the team, noting, “This team has won many titles, and we’re already working hard on 2027.”
