Brad Binder ‘back in the fight’, but warns Mandalika MotoGP ‘very special’

KTM’s Brad Binder hopes a season-best fourth at the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix “is a changing point for me”, but warns Mandalika is “a very special” circuit.

The two-time premier class grand prix winner came from 15th on the grid last Sunday to finish a season-best fourth in a chaotic 27-lap race at Mandalika.

It marked his best result of what he termed a “really hard season” for the KTM rider, who until last weekend hadn’t cracked the top five in a full-distance race.

Brad Binder says his turnaround in form was down to a “big change” in warm-up on Sunday giving him more front-end confidence, which meant he could “go and push”.

“We made quite a big change in warm-up and straight away I felt a lot more confident in the front-end,” he explained.

“I felt like I was turning a little bit better and the front felt a bit more planted, so it gave me good confidence in the race to go and push.

“Happy to have been able to come through the field, and most importantly better my starting position by a long way.

“First time in a while I’ve been able to go forward.”

But Binder has warned that the extremely low-grip conditions of Mandalika, coupled with the harder rear tyre casing brought to this event, does make it “very special” and is wary of viewing this as concrete proof of a more permanent turnaround.   

“I think it’s a special place for sure, but I really hope that this is changing point for me because I’ve had a really, really, really hard season,” he said.

“It’s good to finish fourth again. It’s great to fight with the boys, but it’s very special out here.

“Super low grip levels, funny tyres. Let’s see when we get back to Europe.

“I felt more confident on the bike for sure, but Phillip Island is a completely different ball game.

“The track there is super-fast, super flowing. We’ve got the normal casing back on the rear, so that always makes he grip a lot better.

“It’s going to be interesting. But if I have good feeling like this and I can push a bit, it makes a very big difference.”