KTM ace Brad Binder (8th) reflects: “Perhaps I was a bit too cautious”

One of Brad Binder’s major weaknesses this MotoGP season has been qualifying. The KTM rider usually has to start from well down the grid, and his races then become a matter of damage limitation. Things didn’t go any better in qualifying at Silverstone either – the South African couldn’t manage better than 18th on the grid.

In Saturday’s sprint race, Binder crossed the finish line in eleventh place. In Sunday’s Grand Prix, the experienced rider got off to a good start and, after just a few corners, was sitting in 12th place in the points-scoring positions. After squeezing past Gresini stand-in Iker Lecuona, he was already in eleventh place. Following a brief battle with Yamaha rider Jack Miller, which Binder won, he overtook Fabio Quartararo.

Binder then spent a long time running in 10th place. Following Ai Ogura’s (Trackhouse Aprilia) retirement midway through the race, he moved up to ninth. On lap 12, he overtook VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli. After that, he was unable to make any further progress – Brad Binder crossed the finish line in eighth place.

“My weekend started to improve from Saturday afternoon onwards. I felt much better in the sprint, even on used tyres. In the main race, I knew I had to be clever not to wear out my rear tyre. Perhaps I was a bit too cautious, because in the end I still had plenty of grip,” mused the 30-year-old. “I’m happier than usual because the bike felt a bit better. I was able to push harder; it worked well. The last two weekends have been a bit better. We’re making progress. We need to keep it up.”

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Brad Binder: “We’ve made a big step forward with the bike”

What did he change with his KTM crew that’s made him feel better on the RC16 now? “The rear tyre doesn’t feel so spongy anymore and the front tyre is more stable,” explained Binder. That spongy feeling with the rear tyre had meant he was riding too gently through the corners. “You end up losing time on corner entry, through the middle and on corner exit.”

Binder therefore left Silverstone feeling a little more optimistic – with greater confidence ahead of the next event, which takes place in Aragon at the end of August. “Yes, that’s right. We’ve made a big step forward with the bike. All in all, I can’t complain,” confirmed Binder.

Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Fans

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Raúl Fernández

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Alex Márquez und Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin

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Luca Marini

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Marc und Alex Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez und Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Moreira und Quartararo

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Raúl Fernández gewinnt das Rennen

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Silverstone-Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Martin, Fernández, Bezzecchi

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Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

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