A year and a half before their MotoGP debut, KTM tested their V4 engine for the first time, a configuration designed to use a steel trellis frame chassis only used by this team.

In October 2015, the KTM RC16 was track-tested on for the first time at the Red Bull Ring with Alex Hofmann as the first test rider on the bike.

The team presented the RC16 to the public for the first time before the start of the 2016 Austrian GP with test riders Kallio and Hofmann doing a couple of laps before announcing that Mika Kallio would have a wildcard entry for the 2016 Valencian GP aboard the RC16, making the official debut race for the machine and KTM into the MotoGP category.

The team made their debut in the MotoGP category at the 2017 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix; qualifying in 22nd and 23rd, they were able to finish in 16th and 17th six seconds apart.

Injury would then befall Espargaró who broke his collar bone in a warm-up session in preparation for the 2018 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix.

[2] On 9 August 2020, KTM secured their first MotoGP win, and their first dry weather podium with Brad Binder at the Czech GP.

Names like Brad Binder, Augusto Fernandez, Miguel Oliveira, Remy Gardner and more have all made full steps through the KTM GP Academy while Pedro Acosta has won two titles in just three seasons of Grand Prix competition.