EXCLUSIVE - Brad Binder: 'Wow, this thing's an animal!' How KTM turned it around
Binder has been a MotoGP race winner since his rookie 2020 campaign, delivering the RC16’s first ever victory in only his third race.
The difference in 2023 is that he can now go into every weekend knowing “we can fight for podiums and victories. That’s new for us.”
Such consistency is also reflected in the championship standings, where Binder - sixth for the past two years - is currently fourth and the only non-Ducati in the top half-dozen.
“I'd like to think so,” the South African told Crash.net when asked if this is the best Brad Binder we’ve seen in MotoGP so far.
“I'm feeling the best I've ever felt. Stronger and in better shape.
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“As much as it looks good on the results, it's actually been a difficult start to the year. We’ve had some tricky times - getting wiped out, pushed down to 20th, long laps, trips off track - but then so has everyone else.
“So I'm really happy to be where we are. It's been fantastic fighting up front. Fighting for podiums has been awesome. I just want to keep this ball rolling. Try and keep them coming.”
While Binder’s personal position is promising, KTM’s biggest step on paper is illustrated by the constructors’ table, where the Austrian factory - yet to finish higher than fourth - is second only to reigning champion's Ducati.
“The biggest change for us is our bike has made massive steps forward,” agreed Binder. “I think our package in general is much more competitive. It’s working much better everywhere we go.
“We’re in a position now where if we do things well and do a good job, we can fight for podiums and victories every weekend. That's new for us. We have an amazing opportunity right now and we need to seize it.”
While KTM has won seven races, more than the likes of Suzuki and Aprilia in the MotoGP era, it is the only current manufacturer never to have sustained a title challenge. Could 2023 finally be the year?
“We’re here to fight for podiums and victories every weekend and then if things align and we managed to [fight for the title] fantastic,” said Binder.
“But my main focus is on what I can control today and what I can really take advantage of each and every weekend. I like to believe if I really focus on that, the rest will take care of itself.
“I go out there and try to be as fast as I can from lap one until the end,” added the 27-year-old. “Whether that means I win on the day, which I always try to do, or finish fifth or tenth.
“But you have to score the points, because there's so many [37] available every weekend with this new race weekend format. DNFs can hurt you for sure. You need to stay clever and try not to overdo things at times.”
Binder has one DNF from the 16 races to date, an accident in Germany.
“We were struggling, there’s no other way to put it”
Binder has celebrated two Sprint wins, a GP podium at Jerez and a Sprint podium at Le Mans. Without the track limits penalties in Assen, he would have two more podiums, not to mention what might have been without the other incidents.
Further ‘orange’ highlights include three podiums for new team-mate Jack Miller, test rider Dani Pedrosa’s Jerez wild-card heroics, plus a fourth place at Le Mans for GASGAS rookie Augusto Fernandez.
Such results are all the more surprising given the factory’s woes in winter testing, Binder entering the new season 14th fastest at Sepang and then ninth (and again top KTM) in Portimao.
“We were struggling in the off-season, there’s no other way to put it,” Binder confirmed. “We definitely weren’t where we wanted to be.”
The rate of KTM’s recovery since has been remarkable.
Binder sums it up as “a big combination of small things”, starting with the delivery of a crucial grip-enhancing part for the season-opening Portimao race weekend.
“They brought us a small part [which gave us more grip]. That really took away one of my biggest weak points with the new bike for the Portimao race,” he said.
“Even though I wasn’t really up for it in Portimao, because I’d hurt myself going into it and didn’t feel the best, I felt the step in the bike. And that was the main thing.”
While Binder battled with his testing injuries to claim sixth on the Sunday, Miller had already proved the potential of the bike by leading Friday practice, qualifying fifth and fighting for the Sprint podium.
Crucially, while the likes of Honda and Yamaha seem to have been going in circles with bike development, KTM continued to tick off weak points. The grip increase at Portimao followed by further steps in braking and long-corner performance.
Meanwhile, the constantly evolving aero, aided by Red Bull Advanced Technologies, has proved resistant to ‘dirty air’ behind other bikes, while their race starts are the envy of the grid and the latest engine has propelled Binder to a new top-speed record at Mugello.
But perhaps most striking in relation to their rivals was the way Binder and Miller could slide the back of their RC16s into the slow corners at tracks like Jerez.
“I love rear grip. Rear grip is something that I always ask for… For me, it's never enough!” Binder insisted.
“I love grip on throttle, but on corner entry I like a bike to move around a bit. When it’s too steady on entry, I don't have the best feeling with the front.
“I prefer to get a little bit more loose because it gives you more margin on the front.
“I like to really control the bike from the rear, like when you really use the rear tyre to help you stop. And you can turn it [with the rear] whether it be on throttle or on entry.
“I don't mind if the bike doesn't turn fantastically, but I need the rear to be there when I need it. Like when you want to open the throttle, it mustn’t let go.”
Binder’s biggest buzz: ‘Wow, this thing’s an animal!’
While Binder now feels familiar with the ‘insane’ levels of MotoGP performance, including his ground-shaking 366.1km/h (227.5mph) Mugello speed record, there’s still one moment that reminds him of what an ‘animal’ the 1000cc prototypes really are.
“When you first start in MotoGP you think, ‘How the hell do they do it?’ ‘How do people hang on? How do you get used to this?’ And now, in my fourth season, it feels like walking!” he said.
“You get so used to having that insane power and insane speed. It's crazy how your body and mind can just kind of accept that's the new the new normality.
“But one of the things you still feel is when you take a handful of gas on a new tyre and the thing just drives forwards. You literally feel like you do the whole straight with the front wheel off the ground.
“That's when you really appreciate ‘wow, this thing’s an animal!’
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a rider that famously won from 35th and last on the grid in Moto3, and from 15th as recently as this year’s Argentine MotoGP Sprint, Binder names his favourite rider to battle with as whoever happens to be next ahead on track.
“Honestly, every person in front of me I want behind!” Binder grinned. “Regardless of who they are or how they ride, or what type of fight they're going to put up. I want them to be behind and that's my goal. That’s the way I look at it.”
With only one pole position since being crowned Moto3 world champion in 2018, and one front row as a MotoGP rider, there have certainly been many riders starting ahead of the #33 over the years.
It remains a work in progress, with Binder ranked 11th best in qualifying this season. That's three places higher than last year but still six positions behind team-mate Miller, who is proving the RC16 can perform over a single lap.
Reigning champion and title leader Francesco Bagnaia leads the way in qualifying with four poles, three further front rows and a worst of fifth from the eight rounds.
Binder will start the British MotoGP at Silverstone next month trailing Bagnaia by 80 points but with 444 still available from the new Sprint+GP weekend format.
