Brad Binder says KTM ‘not too far off, but could have done with another two days testing’

Brad Binder believes the gap to Ducati is not as big as the timingsheets suggested at the Sepang MotoGP test.

08 Feb 2024

Brad Binder finished as the top KTM for the second day in a row, after overhauling MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta late on.

But Binder, challenging Ducati is the main goal in 2024 and lap times over one lap seemed to indicate that Ducati were in a league of their own.

But the factory KTM rider, especially over race distance, believes they are closer to last season’s world champions.

“Pretty good final day and pretty good test overall,” said Binder. “We tried a ton of stuff. This morning we tried loads of things and throughout the day narrowed down what was working, what we liked and didn’t like.

“This afternoon we started to find a little bit more of a direction for the future.

“So far, so good. Things are a lot better than they look on the timingsheets. I think we have a lot of potential.”

While Binder and KTM worked through an extensive testing program over the last three days, the South African admitted they could have done with a couple of extra days.

Asked if he’s found the right balance with the new parts brought by KTM, Binder said: “I don’t know to be honest. I think we tried so many different things. We needed to put them together and we tried different things at different times.

“To be honest, we could have done with another two days of testing to narrow it all down.

“But the way we finished this afternoon is not too far off. In general, we can be happy and we have a much better idea.”

What is clear is that the last calendar year has been a very strong one for KTM, with Binder able to shave well over a second off his best time from the Sepang test last season.

Binder's best time at this year's Sepang test was a 1:57.307s, which was just over six tenths down on Francesco Bagnaia’s new unofficial lap record.

“At the test here last year, I think I was 14th or 15th and I did a 58.9, so we have made a good step in a year,” stated Binder.

“If we can keep this type of progress I think we can do well.”