Binder 'surprised' by time attack pace, feels 'ten times better' ahead of Qatar
Despite missing out on a top ten result during day two of Mandalika MotoGP testing, Brad Binder feels KTM has made considerable improvements compared to last weekend’s Sepang test.
The South African, who finished P3 during Friday’s opening day, was quickest for much of the second day before a late flurry of time attacks relegated him to 11th.
Even though track conditions have so far been tricky to put it mildly, Binder has looked fast from the get-go which is a big contrast to this time last week.
Struggling with traction and the overall set-up of his RC16, such issues haven’t been the case so far in Indonesia, instead Binder feels changes regarding said set-up have made him ‘a lot more comfortable’ on the bike.
In fact, Binder believes he’s in far better shape heading into the 2022 MotoGP season opener as opposed to how he felt ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Binder said: "Honestly, better than last year. I left Sepang really not happy. But the good thing was we understood why I wasn’t happy and what we needed to do to fix it.
"We got here and already made a good step forward from the beginning. Just playing with the set up, we made the bike a lot more comfortable and it gave me a lot more margin.
"I was happy about that. If I take how I’m feeling now compared to how I felt going into Qatar last year this is ten times better. Let’s see.
"I think there is a lot of room for us to improve. I just want to go out and do my best. I feel good on the bike. Let’s keep the positive feeling and keep pushing. Let’s see. You never know what can happen."
Along with the above-stated set-up changes, Binder has continued to test new aero packages for the Austrian manufacturer.
With both race and qualifying pace taking a big step forward this weekend, Binder has gone as far as confirming which aero configuration he plans to use during next month’s opening round.
Binder, who was ‘surprised’ by his one lap pace, said: "This morning I felt good. The first exit I improved the lap time from yesterday on used tyres. Already then I realised the track was much better and there was a long way to improve.
"When I did the time attack I was surprised. I did a really good lap time and it came relatively easily. After that we focussed on working with the medium. we tried a lot of things. We tried some aero pieces.
"One positive thing about today is I know exactly which configuration I like and what works for us the best.
"From here on out, I think the aero is going to stay the same, or the same as the final one we’ve been trying.
"We can go from there and really work on the set-up. The aero is something that changes the way the bike works and changes the weight on each wheel. We still need to work on this and find the best package possible."
