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The monochromatic days when the apex featured cobbled stones was a time when KTM first ventured to the tarmac with their own road racing machine. In the mid-1950s and way before the brand went orange the Austrian manufacturer made their first entry into road racing. Without their own engine to match the competitive four-strokes of the era they used a powerplant from MV Agusta as a donor, placing the Italian 125cc engine into their own chassis that had a leading link fork. This was 1955 and a year later the Mattighofen based company employed Austrian engine designer Ludwig Apfelbeck to work on the racing project. The Apfelbeck KTM was powered by a short stroke DOHC 125cc engine that produced 17bhp at 12,000rpm with the fully faired racer capable of 111mph. The early KTM race machine had most of its success in the Austrian domestic series before disappearing into obscurity in the early 60s, but the bike began their roots on the tarmac and over half a century later KTM took their first GP championship title in 2012 with their sexy little Moto3 racer in the hands of Sandro Cortese.

The monochromatic days when the apex featured cobbled stones was a time when KTM first ventured to the tarmac with their own road racing machine.

In the mid-1950s and way before the brand went orange the Austrian manufacturer made their first entry into road racing. Without their own engine to match the competitive four-strokes of the era they used a powerplant from MV Agusta as a donor, placing the Italian 125cc engine into their own chassis that had a leading link fork.

This was 1955 and a year later the Mattighofen based company employed Austrian engine designer Ludwig Apfelbeck to work on the racing project. The Apfelbeck KTM was powered by a short stroke DOHC 125cc engine that produced 17bhp at 12,000rpm with the fully faired racer capable of 111mph.

The early KTM race machine had most of its success in the Austrian domestic series before disappearing into obscurity in the early 60s, but the bike began their roots on the tarmac and over half a century later KTM took their first GP championship title in 2012 with their sexy little Moto3 racer in the hands of Sandro Cortese.

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