KTM’s “biggest thing” in MotoGP 2024 was “that I kept falling off” - Binder

Brad Binder arrives at the Red Bull Ring without a win in MotoGP since he won at the Austrian venue in 2021, but having been the closest rider to Francesco Bagnaia in the Italian’s dominant weekend in last year’s edition of the Austrian MotoGP.

2022 was Binder’s first season since 2015 that he hadn’t won at least one race. 2023 saw him back on the top step in the Argentinian and Spanish Sprints, but he remains winless so far in 2024 on either Saturdays or Sundays.

“It’s been a long time since 2021,” Binder admitted. “Okay, we’ve got a couple of Sprint wins but they don’t count, so let’s try and get one of the main ones [GPs] done again.”

As a result, a return to the kind of form he showed in Austria last year is on Binder’s agenda.

“We always seem to find something at this Grand Prix every year,” Binder said. “I think it suits our bike really well, I think the style that our bike works with — the late braking, really stopping and going, it kind of helps us. The last few events haven’t gone our way at all, and we expect to do a lot better.

“I’m really excited to get back on track here, it’s a track that I’ve always had good memories at, always have been able to rise to the occasion, even if it’s been a really tough season up until now. In the past it’s been a turning point for us, so I’m hoping it’s the same this time round.”

Binder’s season, and KTM’s for that matter, has been one of regression, results-wise. Having started the year with three podiums from the first three Grands Prix, KTM now hasn’t had a bike finish in the top three since Pedro Acosta was third in the Italian Sprint back in June. Binder himself is without a trophy since he was second in the Qatar Grand Prix.

“Qatar was really good, it was great to get two seconds,” the #33 said. “However, in the race I could see that there were some places in particular that we were really struggling compared to our competitors, and there were other places where I could make up a lot of time in Qatar. So that was really good.

“But it turned in the next few races, we started to see some things that were a little bit tricky, and it was clear that we needed to try and make some changes if we wanted to try and find our way further up the grid.”

Binder jokingly admitted that his crash rate in the first part of the season contributed somewhat to KTM’s struggles.

“The biggest thing for us was that I kept falling off a lot,” Binder said. “We needed to find a way to get some good confidence with the front again, and that’s one thing we’ve got right.

“The team are working incredibly hard, the guys at the factory are working non-stop, so for me it’s just a matter of time until we get the podiums and hopefully wins.”

In addition to its regular quartet of riders, KTM has its test rider, Pol Espargaro, entered this weekend as a wildcard. Binder didn’t give much away about what Espargaro is testing this weekend, and what’s different or new on his bike, but he did at least give an enthusiastic outlook.

“Obviously I know that Pol is here on a bit of a different package,” Binder said. “He’s got a load of different updates. It’s going to be interesting to see how they get on because of course the test team is always working for our future and what next year will look like for us.”

Binder said that he doesn’t know when he might be able to try the parts being trialled this weekend by Espargaro.

“As far as knowing when we’re going to test the bike ourselves, I really have no idea. I really hope Pol’s on fire this weekend and looks really good, though.”