KTM’s expectations for the weekend in Jerez were high but ended up being disappointed with a less successful result than expected. Brad Binder admitted the difficulties and revealed that the Sprint had an impact on Sunday’s race, and that he had some vibration problems on his bike for the first time.
In analyzing the weekend, Binder began by explaining that he was not at his best: ‘This weekend was particularly difficult. I had to go through Q1 after a tough practice session, but I managed to get fourth place, which was encouraging. Unfortunately, the Sprint on Saturday didn’t go well and although it didn’t have a major physical impact, it probably had an impact on my performance on Sunday’.
Furthermore, a mistake at the start immediately limited his race in general but there were also more problems, and new ones, never felt before:
– My start was not good. I released the clutch too quickly, causing a wheelie and losing crucial positions right from the start. This completely compromised my race. For the first time, I felt vibrations on the RC16, which was really unsettling. It started at the beginning of the race and prevented me from being fast in the corners. This is something we have never experienced before and requires a thorough analysis.
And he concluded: ‘Lost points are hard to recover, but the championship is long. We will continue to work and fight in every race’.