Binder ‘back to work’ in Austria after Brno boost

Brad Binder got right back down to action for the Austrian MotoGP just days after claiming his first win for KTM as he looked to get dialled into tackling the Red Bull Ring on a MotoGP bike for the first time.

Refusing the get carried away after a momentous week, Binder was satisfied with the progress made during FP1 before having his track time limited by the inclement weather conditions of race two.

Branding the circuit ‘so different’ to what he experienced on a Moto2 bike, Binder expects to be able to ramp up the pace in FP3 where he will need to get himself up the order from his current 16th position in order to progress to Q2.

“This track is so different on the MotoGP bike. The line choice is completely different. It took me a long time to try and find my feet at this track. Also, the braking zones, to try and find a good point where to start braking was difficult.

“I didn’t really do many good laps this morning and I was looking forward to more in the afternoon but unfortunately the weather was shocking. To have half the track wet and half dry was really strange. It was a waste of time doing any laps in the afternoon. So, we are ready to check things over and make a good step in the morning.

“It is difficult for me to figure out the lines I need to use and how to ride the bike properly. All in all it has been challenging but I’m looking forward to having a dry session tomorrow. We did go out in FP2 but unfortunately I caught the chequered flag by one second.

“I didn’t get to do a flying lap. It was strange because I never saw the flag but my dashboard at Turn1 had it come up. I think it was less than a second. It was crazy, but anyway the conditions were sketchy out there and there was no need to do anything anyway.”