Barcelona is a track known for its particularly slippery asphalt and low levels of grip. Brad Binder is well aware of the challenges these conditions pose, but he is confident in the preparation undertaken to tackle them.
The Red Bull KTM rider stated: ‘It’s super, super slipery here, and a high tyre wear, but last year was pretty OK – the results on Sunday of course not, but Saturday I finished fourth and all the weekend we were quite fast. We know what to do with our bike when it’s a really slipery track, we obviously change the setting quite a bit. I think we’re quite prepared, we prepared quite well for this weekend. We have a good idea of what we need to really have a good weekend here. We start like every weekend, we start from zero again, and I’m pretty sure it will be OK’.
Regarding riding in such low grip conditions, Binder explained: ‘It’s like the equivalent to ride in the wet here. Of course you run a lot more lean angle, but the bike barely works – it’s just everything so slow, you got to be clean and easy because you just spin. You have to be cleaner because if you start spinning, you just keep spinning. So it’s crucial to try and follow the grip, especially with the throttle. Honestly I’ve always enjoyed it here. Eventhough the grip is so low, it’s pretty cool’.
On the other hand, the South African does not believe that riders can make more of a difference due to the low grip levels: ‘To be honest, whether high grip or low grip, it’s always the same people at front. So I think you got to be clever here, because there’s no way to go flat out from the beginning and finish the race because the tyres don’t last. So you have to be clever and really try and be smart with the spin on the rear tyre. But also the front wear here is really high. In general you need to be prepared for that and you need to be able to follow the grip and the performance well and try to stay as quick as you can throughout the race. I felt quite prepared for it last year’.