KTM is a special case in the motoring market. It’s probably the only brand I know which can display an incredible rate of growth in the last 10 years. The Austrian manufacturer has been known for ages only as an off road bike specialist, famous for rough and strong enduro and motocross bikes. In the last years KTM has been brave enough to develop some great “supermoto” type bikes and proper road/racing machines, as well as a car, the mighty XBow that we tested on issues 299 and 300.

Today KTM is a symbol of sportiveness, technology, manufacturing quality, uncompromised material and aggressive marketing.

One of the latest creature is the Supersport bike model, the RC8, a twin cylinder monster, 1,190 cc of displacement, capable of 152 HP. We asked Auto Trader friend and expert racer driver Andrea Capoccia to take it on the race track to find out if it can beat the Japanese strong competitors.

Here’s his words after the exciting evening at the Dubai Autodrome. “What a bike!!!! It’s nothing like I have driven before, as I have been mostly on Japanese in-line fours in the past. It’s a big bike, but it handles and feels like a much smaller machine”

Andrea decided to participate in a mini-competition on the track to put some pressure on himself and attended the Sprint Challenge. He is definitely caught by this Austrian orange lady: “Ah, the race track….This is definitely where this bike belongs. Everything tells you that this machine is built especially for the track and like the brand’s motto claims, it is definitely “Ready to Race”. You can choose between several ECU mappings according to the conditions and your driving style, the powerful Brembo brakes, adjustable rear sub frame and foot pegs, Marchesini wheels, fully adjustable front and rear suspensions; when finally we are allowed to enter the track, the V-twin grunts like you would expect also thanks to the help of a racing Akrapovic exhaust system.”

“I feel I can get quickly used to the bike, its size and its power. Very soon I am lapping faster and faster, without really noticing it. To my utmost surprise, the bike feels extremely light and very responsive to the rider input, attributes which you normally find on a 600 cc. While I am getting more and more acquainted to the machine, I am going even faster, but the effort is sensibly less than I thought. It is responding really well to the severe conditions of the track.”

“It turns quickly; it holds the chosen line, it’s stable and comes out of the corners gracefully. What impressed me the most though, I must say, are the brakes. They are a work of art and are able to slow you down in such an effective manner, that makes you smile while you are squeezing the lever in your hands approaching a turn.

I feel a pleasant feedback from the front end and I have the exact perception of the grip in any circumstances, which makes you feel confident to get on the gas earlier than you think.”

“As the laps are ticking, I am experimenting with more things and regular “tricks of the trade”, such as counter steering really hard through the chicane and sliding the rear to get more drive coming out of sharper turns. Well, the bike does everything I want; at my command it does not hesitate and it is predictable and controllable in all occasions.

In fact, I have started sliding the rear not only coming into turns, but also coming out of them, to keep the momentum happening and to further reduce lap times.”

“On the way home I could only think of how well this bike has been put together and how smooth it works. I get surprised of how comfortable and civilized is it on open roads. The riding position is not as extreme as any other sports bikes. The position is well centered and the seat is low, which means you are able to support your own weight without loading your wrists and shoulders.

It’s a bike that belongs to the race track and definitely requires a rider with enough experience and the right “control” of the right hand, to avoid getting things out of control. After all it produces 152 hp! Put into the right hands, it has the potential of being one of the fastest bikes on any track.”

“All in all the bike has been a fantastic ride all week end long and even though it’s born to race, it can be used easily also on the open roads and would make a perfect bike for those who intend to ride it on the roads and venture every now and then on the track.”