Brad Binder mentioned that the adjustments made overnight enabled him to be more competitive than his second-place finish in the sprint.
Brad Binder replicated his second-place finish from the Qatar MotoGP sprint during Saturday’s race, but the factory KTM rider was content with the manner in which he secured the result.
Binder came close to challenging Jorge Martin in the sprint, and although the gap to Francesco Bagnaia was over a second at the end of the grand prix, the South African managed to keep the world champion on edge throughout the race.
“We have nothing to complain about,” said Binder. “Starting the season with two second places is fantastic. I’m much more satisfied with today’s second place compared to yesterday’s.
“Yesterday, I felt like we were lacking something, but today was much better. I knew today’s race was going to be extremely challenging because we can be quite hard on the rear tire at times.
“I had to nurse it to the finish, so I focused on being as smooth as possible. It was tough to stay composed because I could see Pecco right there.
“It felt like a dangling carrot, and the temptation to go for it was strong. But I knew that if I tried to push too hard, I might catch up a bit but lose a couple of seconds in the final laps.
“I had to be smart about it. Battling with Jorge was fantastic, and I enjoyed it a lot. Let’s see if we can make some improvements because it would be great to give these guys a real challenge next time.”
In the sprint, Binder grappled mainly with edge grip issues, although the pumping and spinning as a result were significantly reduced.
Binder further explained, “There was one aspect we needed to work on from yesterday. I experienced a lot of pumping, and the grip felt a bit inconsistent.
“At times, when I would spin a bit and open the throttle, it wouldn’t hook up as expected. The bike felt really good in the first three laps of the race, but then unfortunately there was a bit of a dip before it stabilized again.
“The team worked tirelessly on the electronics, made some adjustments to the bike setup, and everything felt much more manageable. We didn’t have that significant vibration issue.
“Today, I did have a bit of vibration, similar to what the other guys experienced. As the tire started to wear, it became more noticeable, which hadn’t been the case all weekend. For me, it’s clear what we need to focus on improving.”
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