Brad Binder says KTM’s MotoGP deficit to Ducati “really not that much”

Brad Binder believes the “gap per lap” deficit KTM has to Ducati in MotoGP is “really not that much” despite the latter’s dominance in 2024.

Ducati enjoyed its strongest season ever in MotoGP last year when it won 19 of 20 grands prix on its way to the riders’ and constructors’ championships.

In the constructors’ standings, Ducati beat KTM by a massive margin of 395 points, as the Austrian manufacturer went a second year without a victory.

At some races, Ducati riders held leads of over 10 seconds to the chasing pack.

While Binder acknowledges that the gap Ducati held over the field fluctuated, he doesn’t believe KTM is as far behind as it seemed.

“Well, I think it’s different at many places,” he said after KTM’s 2025 launch on Thursday.

“At some tracks I think we are right there and we are in with a shot, but at some tracks and other situations it seems a lot more difficult.

“However, if you actually run the numbers and see the gap per lap, it’s really not that much.

“So, I’ve seen it before where gaps have looked like it’s a long way maybe but in the reality when you make some small steps, like two, three small steps, at the end of the day that gap disappears and just shrinks.

“So, that’s our goal coming into this pre-season, especially with the testing coming up in Malaysia and Thailand.

“When we line up in Thailand, I want to be in the best form of my life.”

KTM begins the 2025 campaign on the backdrop of uncertainty brought about by the brand’s financial crisis.

Asked if this was something that contributed to KTM’s difficult 2024 season, Binder replied: “I mean, for sure our situation last year, I think we were trying to chase a lot of performance extremely quickly.

“I think we were all not satisfied with where we were.

“So, of course we are all working as hard as we could to get further up the field and fight even closer to the front for sure. Other than that, not at all.”