Teams

Decoding a team name — three parts

The manufacturer's name is there because the team belongs to the manufacturer — a factory (works) team. The bike maker runs the team itself to prove its machines can win the toughest races on earth, covering salaries, mechanics, travel and special-spec bikes. Racing is the shop window. The title sponsor pays for the front of the name, and “Factory Racing” is the badge that says “this is the works outfit.”

This composition is an industry convention rather than a rule — some team names don't follow it.

Three tiers of rider

A hard enduro quirk worth knowing: a near-stock 300cc two-stroke is already competitive here, so the machinery gap is small and privateers beat factory bikes all the time. This is not motocross, where a works bike is half the battle.

There is an in-between case too. In 2026 Mario Roman left Sherco after nine factory years and founded his own team, MR74 Racing, riding a Husqvarna — a rider who is also the team owner.

The confusing part — KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas are one company

The three brands belong to one Austrian group (formerly Pierer Mobility; after a financial restructuring it became Bajaj Mobility AG in January 2026, majority-owned by India's Bajaj). The technology under the plastics is largely shared, but each brand runs its own separately named race team as a marketing vehicle — so “the KTM team,” “the Husqvarna team” and “the GASGAS team” look like rivals while sharing a parent.

And Red Bull shows up on both sides of the sport: in team names (Red Bull KTM) and in event names (Red Bull Erzbergrodeo). In a niche sport with little TV money, energy-drink sponsorship is the biggest outside funding source, and Red Bull's strategy covers the athletes, the event naming rights and the broadcast (Red Bull TV) in one loop.

Why everyone rides a 300cc two-stroke

The standard weapon is a ~300cc two-stroke enduro bike — KTM 300 EXC, Husqvarna TE 300, Sherco 300 SE, Rieju MR 300. Light (around 106 kg), with the low-rev torque to crawl up rock faces, and mechanically simple. KTM even sells a dedicated production model called the 300 EXC HARDENDURO.

Change is coming, though: electric bikes (Stark among them) cracked the Erzbergrodeo top ten in 2026 — the first dent in two-stroke dominance.

Enduro (EnduroGP) — classes and teams

EnduroGP riders race in one of three classes — Enduro1, Enduro2 and Enduro3 — and the overall title (EnduroGP) is decided on the classification across all of them. So one rider can win both “EnduroGP” and “E1” in the same year, as Josep Garcia did in 2026. There are also Junior, Youth and Women's classes.

Team names read the same way as in hard enduro. The 2026 front runners are Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team, Sherco Racing Factory, Beta Factory Team and RIEJU Factory Team — factory teams with “Factory” in the name.

Rally (W2RC) — entry categories and factory teams

In rallies such as the Dakar, the bike field is split into three categories.

• RallyGPProfessional riders and factory teams. The overall win is fought out here.
• Rally2Privateers and semi-professionals. Young winners here move up to RallyGP (2025 Rally2 champion Edgar Canet won a RallyGP round in 2026).
• Original by MotulRiders with no technical support, doing all their own maintenance and repairs each night.

The factory teams at the front of RallyGP in 2026 are Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Monster Energy Honda HRC and Hero Motosports Team Rally. As in hard enduro, the title sponsor comes first, then the manufacturer.