Guenther Steiner reveals inside story behind Tech3 MotoGP team acquisition

Guenther Steiner has outlined the background to his move into MotoGP, revealing when he started seriously considering purchasing the Tech3 team.

On Friday, it was announced that former Haas Formula 1 team principal Steiner will lead a consortium of investors and take over the ownership of KTM’s satellite team in a deal worth just under €20 million.

The agreement will see Steiner installed as CEO of Tech3 from 2026, with business partner Richard Coleman replacing long-time owner Herve Poncharal as team principal. It marks Steiner’s first managerial role in motorsport since his departure from Haas at the start of 2024. 

The Italian explained that the idea of running a MotoGP team was born after he attended the US Grand Prix at Austin in April 2024, less than four months after leaving Haas.

This was followed by conversations with Poncharal, which stretched well into the middle of 2025. Those talks reassured the Frenchman that Steiner could be trusted to take the team forward, and the deal was eventually completed with the blessing of Dorna and formally announced in Barcelona.

“At the end of 2023, I was looking around what to do next; I had a few things going on,” said Steiner.

“I always loved MotoGP [but] I never had time to enjoy it because I was working. Once I got through Austin last year, I came up with the idea [and thought] this would be an interesting project. 

“I started to look around to speak with people [about] what is possible, and at some stage I met Herve. We got done with our meeting.

“The team will stay where it is. The team will continue his legacy. Why would I change something that works? 

“We want to learn and we want to have Herve along us next year to get as much of his experience. There are not many people in this paddock who have got the experience of him. 

“[If you ask], ‘What do I want to do differently?’ In the moment, nothing, I just want to learn for you. That is what I want to do differently, and then we need to see if we need to do something different, we progress.”

Steiner said Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta made it clear he couldn’t mess it up before green-lighting the transaction, which he jokingly translated as being told not to ‘f**k it up’.”

“I would like to thank Mr Carmelo Ezpeleta and Carlos Ezpeleta,” he said. “They actually told me, if we let you in, [in] my words, ‘don’t f**k it up, basically’. That’s what I have to look out [for] now with Richard, that we don’t get it wrong. 

“But I had to promise that to Carmelo and Carlos that we continue what is there because MotoGP is a great sport.

“We need to make sure that we continue the good story and we make MotoGP what it deserves, being big and getting bigger, and we will try to help to do that.”

Poncharal revealed that several parties had shown interest in acquiring the team he founded back in 1990, but he felt Steiner was the best candidate to lead it into the future.

“At some stage, you need to pass the baton,” he said. “So, I’ve been thinking for quite a while how to do it, who to do it with. 

“We met a few people, especially since Liberty Media came, and is now running together with Dorna the championship. 

“There were, of course, more interest, more people talking and asking you what you are planning, and the winner is Guenther Steiner. 

“I have to say that in the beginning, I was a bit scared of it because if you look at him, you think he’s gonna punch you. So I was a bit scared to talk and meet him.

“But honestly, I found a very human person. I’ve found somebody who is very much listening to what you want, who cares about you and what you’ve done. 

“I think we are not exactly the same but we still have a lot of things in common. So therefore you know I decided to transfer and to sign a protocol with Guenther.”

While Poncharal acknowledged that Liberty’s entry into MotoGP raised outside interest in Tech3, Steiner insisted the American company’s involvement was immaterial to his own ambition of running a team.

Steiner and Coleman will formally assume control next year, but both intend to rely on Poncharal’s experience as they settle into the paddock. For Steiner, the challenge evokes memories of his move to NASCAR in 2006, when he was tasked with establishing Red Bull’s Cup Series operation.