Pierer's stern words came during the KTM season reveal at the Austrian firm's base in Mattighofen, where the marque took the covers off the bike that it will race during its first full season in MotoGP.

KTM also presented its new Moto2 roster there, and it was in answering a question about the prospect of the Austrian brand supplying engines to the category in future that Pierer directed his jab at Honda, which has a deal as the category's sole engine provider running through 2018.

"Moto2 is cheaper than Moto3, because the engine is frozen," Pierer said. "[The engine] is coming from my most hated competitor, Honda.

"But I don’t have any problem with that, to cover that and put on that KTM. And from what I’ve heard, Triumph will deliver [the engine from 2019] and maybe it sounds nicer!"

Asked to elaborate on his animosity towards Honda, Pierer outlined instances in which he believes Honda has crossed the line.

During the 2017 Dakar Rally, Honda riders were given one-hour penalties for refuelling in a prohibited zone, tipping the victory battle in KTM’s favour.

Early last year, Pierer also accused Moto3 rival Honda of exceeding the category’s maximum rev limits during the 2015 season, in which Leopard Honda's Danny Kent beat KTM factory rider Miguel Oliveira to the title by six points.

“Honda is the big challenge, and secondly Honda is always trying to cheat around the regulation,” he added. “Look at Dakar, what happened two months ago.

“It’s always the same – also in Moto3. I don’t know why, they don’t need to do that. That’s the reason we like to beat Honda.”

Additional reporting by Toni Boerner