You could have slapped me with a wet kipper and called me Dolores https://www.autosport.com/motogp/news/135758/zarco-signs-ktm-deal-for-2019
Ktm won't be messing about, I think having Herve and Tech 3 as the feeder youth team is also another master stroke. Ktm are used to winning things, they'll keep going and keep developing until they start running at the front.
It is intriguing to see how they compare to Ducati, as the two bike manufacturers (i.e. only make money from bikes, at most of it) and how long it may take them to win. The GOP bikes they have developed in the past, M3 and the chassis for M2 and previous classes, have always been up there
Seems a bit of a risk. I know KTM mean business but Smith was doing well on the Yamaha before moving and has been nowhere since. Can't see KTM coming on that strong in the space of a single year...