Barcelona is a track whose asphalt is particularly slippery, with low levels of grip. Brad Binder is aware of the challenges that such conditions pose, but also confident in the preparation made to face them.
The Red Bull KTM rider stated: ‘It’s really slippery here, and high tire wear, but last year it was very reasonable – of course the results on Sunday not, but on Saturday I finished fourth and we were fast all weekend. We know what to do with our bike when the track is very slippery, obviously we change the setup a bit. I think we are prepared, we prepared well for this weekend. We have a good idea of what we need to have a truly good weekend here. We start like every weekend, we start again from scratch, and I’m sure everything will be fine‘.
Regarding how it is to ride in such low grip conditions, Binder explained: ‘It’s like riding in the rain here. Of course you use much more lean angle, but the bike barely works – everything is just so slow, you have to be clean and calm because you just slide. You have to be cleaner because if you start sliding, you keep sliding. So it’s crucial to try to follow the grip, especially with the throttle. Honestly I have always enjoyed it here. Although the grip is so low, it’s very good‘.
On the other hand, the South African does not believe that the pilots can make much of a difference due to the low levels of grip: ‘To be honest, whether it’s high grip or low grip, it’s always the same people at the front. So, I think you have to be smart here, because there’s no way you can push hard from the beginning and finish the race, because the tires don’t last. So, you have to be smart and really try to be clever with the rear tire sliding. But also the wear on the front tire is very high here. In general, you need to be prepared for that and you need to be able to manage the grip and performance and try to stay as fast as possible throughout the race. I felt very prepared for that last year‘.
