Dorna Sports is saddened to hear of the passing of Stefan Kiefer, a much-respected member of the MotoGP™ paddock who will be dearly missed. In the wake of his passing, Kiefer Racing have withdrawn from the Malaysian GP.
Kiefer began his racing career as a rider and made a big impression the German Yamaha Castrol Cup in 1989 and 1990, before changing paths from riding to management. He made his first forays into team ownership and management in 1996, running Kiefer Racing in the ADAC Junior Cup. 2003 marked the German team’s debut on the world stage and a first win arrived by 2008, with Stefan Bradl taking the honour in the 125 World Championship. The team added another win that year, and ended the season fourth in the standings.
In 2010, remaining with Stefan Bradl, Kiefer Racing took their first victory in the intermediate class – winning the penultimate Moto2™ round of the season at Estoril. That set up an assault on the title in 2011, and the partnership took four wins on the way to wrapping up their first World Championship. Remaining a key presence in the paddock in Moto2™ and then Moto3™, the team took their most recent Championship with Danny Kent in 2015, as the outfit dominated much of the Moto3™ season and took six wins together on their way to the crown.
Currently racing in Moto2™ with Dominique Aegerter and Tarran Mackenzie, Kiefer are also a key presence in the ADAC Northern Europe Cup – having taken back-to-back titles with Dirk Geiger in the Moto3™ standard class in 2016 and 2017.
Stefan Kiefer will be sadly missed by all those in the paddock, and we extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and team.