Brad Binder “messed up at the end”, Dani Pedrosa bike change

A fast accident in the closing minutes of Friday afternoon practice at the Spanish MotoGP left Brad Binder to watch helplessly from the sidelines as he lost out on a top-ten place by 0.1s.

That means the 2023 Jerez runner-up will join KTM team-mate Jack Miller and wild-card Dani Pedrosa in trying to battle through Saturday’s Qualifying 1.

Yet Binder insisted there was still plenty to be happy about.

“Honestly, today was great,” Binder said. “This morning we tried something different on the front fork and I felt so much better. I was able to brake hard and enter fast again like I normally can. So that was super positive.

“And this afternoon I was really quick from the first lap. Unfortunately, when I went to give it a push at the end there, I lost the front but I was on a really good lap.

“I feel like we've got a good opportunity to be fast. It’s a pity we need to climb through the Q1 because of the crash. But other than that, I'm happy. I think we'll be OK.

“I think I was much faster today than I was last year. Felt better. Everything was working better. It's just I messed up at the end.”

Miller and Pedrosa also suffered falls in the afternoon and were left in 13th and 14th places.

Pedrosa, the quickest RC16 in eighth this morning, explained: “In the morning we did a good job and we were confident for the afternoon. Unfortunately, in the afternoon, I was having a hard time with one of the bikes.

“So mid-session I decided to quit that bike and took the other bike. Immediately I felt positive. Unfortunately, I pushed a bit too early and I crashed, so maybe the tyre wasn't ready or something.

“And then I could not continue with the bike I liked. So I had to go back to the other bike and finished the session in the best way possible, but it wasn't enough to go to Q2.”

With Augusto Fernandez just 22nd, GASGAS rookie star Pedro Acosta is the only RC16 rider so far confirmed in Qualifying 2, with sixth place on Friday.