Portimao MotoGP: Brad Binder: Jack Miller ‘super fast, made a step in his direction’, worried by teammate?
Brad Binder says a change of direction towards the set-up of teammate Jack Miller helped him find improved performance at the MotoGP season-opener.
After struggling throughout Friday and Saturday, Binder produced his typical magic when it came to the Grand Prix as he finished sixth following a lengthy battle with Alex Marquez and Miller.
Starting outside the top ten, Binder made a brilliant start before climbing as high as fourth with just a couple of laps remaining.
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"What a weekend, a rollercoaster after Friday when I didn’t think I could ride after FP1," said Binder. "Thanks to the physios and doctors for helping me out, I got to a point where I could more-or-less ride.
"In the sprint race I struggled like hell. Today my guys made a big step for me, I felt much more comfortable, everything came easier and, in the race, I was able to fight my way forwards.
"In the last five laps I was in a lot of pain with all the turbulence from the other bikes. I’m happy with what we achieved. We made a solid step.
"Jack did an unbelievable job from the first day here. Today, we made a step in his direction. He’s super fast not just over one lap, but in race pace."
Miller pondering what ‘might have been’ in first MotoGP race with KTM
Following a superb showing in the Sprint, Miller was again a contender for the top five throughout Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Clearly quicker than Marquez during the final few laps, the Australian was unable to keep the Spaniard, who was taking full advantage of Ducati’s better top speed, behind when heading into turn one.
"I’m left pondering what might have been," added Miller after the KTM rider failed to respond to moves made by Binder and Johann Zarco late on. "Not the best start - I need to get that sorted. Apart from that, the race was going well.
"I’m happy with my first weekend in KTM colours. There is plenty more left in the tank. To put points away in both races was really nice.
"I’ve been around doing this for long enough that I take what I see in testing with a grain of salt. We were there to do a job. We were working through parts, understanding the best plan for the bike.
"When it’s time to go racing, we were ready. You always want the immediate speed to be there but it’s coming quicker than I expected. I knew it would come, when we put in the amount of work that we did."
