BRAD BINDER HITS Q2 IN SPIELBERG AFTER STRONGER FRIDAY WITH KTM RC16

Brad Binder said Friday’s progress in Spielberg finally brought him back into a rhythm with his KTM RC16, setting him up for a stronger Saturday after a difficult start to the most recent MotoGP weekend in Misano. The South African began the day with 14th in the first free practice, but then made a major step forward in qualifying to secure seventh place and direct entry into Q2.

Binder contrasted the feeling of this weekend with what he described as frustration at Misano, where he had started both the Sprint and the Sunday race from 19th—the lowest grid position among KTM riders at that event. While he had improved in both races, he still finished 14th and 11th. “I was incredibly disappointed after Misano. It was like driving into a wall,” Binder said. “That’s why I wanted to focus on getting consistency in my laps and finding my rhythm here on Friday first.” He added that even if the result had only been enough for tenth—or even fifteenth—it would still have met the goal of stabilising his pace.

In Spielberg, Binder felt the RC16 working better from the first sessions of the day. “The Friday was a much better day than I’ve had recently and I’m incredibly happy to be straight into Q2,” he said. “Our bike works much better here, and from the first laps in the morning I felt comfortable. And because we’re using a different rear tyre compound here, I don’t have the front-end problems I normally have. That gives me confidence.”

That confidence is expected to translate into improved preparation for Saturday’s second free practice, which Binder sees as the next key step. “With that, we’ll have much better possibilities to prepare on Saturday in FP2,” he explained. He also highlighted how the bike’s behaviour helps him search for speed in smaller increments rather than chasing large changes. “It’s more fun to look for just a few tenths of a second than to search for a whole second.”

Binder believes there is still more to unlock, pointing to braking as his strongest area and to better corner exits at this circuit. “I think we can still find a lot,” he said. “Our biggest strength is braking, and the corner exit works better here than ever before.” He then set his sights on the full weekend picture: “And if we manage to do a good qualifying, then we have to take care of getting through the races well.”

With the Sprint race scheduled for Saturday—where points will be on offer for the first time this weekend—Binder enters the day 13th in the championship standings on 83 points, nine behind teammate Enea Bastianini.