Brad Binder “likes the direction” of new KTM MotoGP bike

The Misano MotoGP test was the first chance for KTM’s factory MotoGP riders to ride the development version of the RC16 that has been ridden by the factory’s test riders at recent wildcard entries.

For Brad Binder, it was an exploratory day at Misano, but one with a positive conclusion.

“Today has been pretty interesting,” he said. “The track was sketchy at first and really dirty. I did a few laps on the new bike and it felt quite different. The character took some time to get used to but all okay.

“The bike is very calm. We’ll know more after some testing runs but I like the direction.”

As well as the aerodynamics and setup work mentioned by Guidotti, Miller was also able to try the new front tyre from Michelin, which is set to be introduced in 2025.

“Not a bad day,” said the Australian. “I got to try the new Michelin front tyre and had a good feeling with that.

“We tried a fairing and not too much else. We have another Grand Prix coming up very soon so not long before more laps at Misano.”

With both factory riders, Binder and Miller, testing, as well as factory test rider Dani Pedrosa, it was also a complicated day from a logistical perspective.

“Brad ran a different configuration: a 2024 version with some development and then a potential new version of the bike,” Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team principal said.

“It’s been an important test and a bit risky to squeeze everything into one day because there is not a lot of time for each bike or each run.

“Dani has an evolution of the current bike, mainly for this season and Jack has focused on back-checking aerodynamics and set-up.

“A lot of riders, a lot of bikes and it will be critical to understand as much as we can and to make our decisions for the coming weeks as well as the future.”

KTM’s MotoGP technical manager, Sebastian Risse, explained that the Misano test was used by KTM to evaluate individual parts before developing more complete packages to try at this year’s final official test at Valencia in November.

“This is the last checkpoint before the official start of next season in Valencia,” Risse said. “We didn’t have a target here to put everything together, it was more about confirming single items and then using Valencia for that purpose.”