Brad Binder “a bit too kind” in Silverstone MotoGP race, explains “floating”
Brad Binder says he may have protected his rear tyre too much in the Silverstone race, "floating" progress.
Brad Binder began the second half of the MotoGP season with his best grand prix result since Catalunya.
The Red Bull KTM rider, expected to join BMW in WorldSBK next season, returned to the top ten with eighth place at Silverstone.
The South African finished a distant 16 seconds behind team-mate and leading RC16 rider Pedro Acosta, but also felt he had been too cautious in preserving his rear tyre.
"A bit too kind"
“My weekend went a lot better from Saturday afternoon,” Binder said.
“In warm-up, I started with used tyres, felt pretty good, and in the race I knew I had to try and be clever and not burn my rear tyre.
“So I really was kind to it - maybe a bit too kind, because I felt a little bit too much grip still at the end.
“In general, I'm a little bit happier, purely because the bike feels a bit better. I feel like I can push it a little bit more and it's working in a way I prefer.
“The last two weekends have gone slightly better, even though the results are still nowhere near what I want.
"There's some progress, so let's keep chipping away at this.”
Binder explains rear “floating”
Asked to pinpoint the area of improvement, Binder replied: “I feel a little bit less floating in the rear, and the front stays up a little bit better.”
The rear “floating”, Binder explained, occurs when “you turn in and just don't have anything grabbing [gripping]. So the bike just keeps moving, and you can't really go in.
“So you end up just floating. And you don't ever cut tight lines and drive out well.
“You end up doing everything too gently and then give away time on the entry, in the middle of the corner - and the exit's not great either!
“So that's been a bit tricky to figure out.
“I think we made a really big step with the bike as far as setup goes, and it's a direction that I can use the bike in. So all in all, can’t complain.”
Binder heads to the next round at Aragon 13th in the World Championship, but now just four points behind Tech3 KTM rider Enea Bastianini, who crashed out of the British Grand Prix.
Acosta finished in fifth place.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
