As KTM officially announced its rescue by its long-standing partner Bajaj Auto, one of the brand's leading figures in MotoGP, Brad Binder, was quick to react. Attending a press conference this Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix, the South African hailed the news as "extremely important" for the entire KTM ecosystem.
« For us in motorcycle sport, we have hardly been affected by any of this, to be honest. " he confided. " But of course, it's super important and it's fantastic for everyone. to hear that KTM will continue like that »
The massive investment of 566 million euros of Bajaj, via a banking arrangement involving JPMorgan and Citigroup, allows KTM to avoid imminent bankruptcy. A prospect which, without directly affecting the MotoGP branch according to Binder, had nevertheless plunged the brand's environment into concern.
« It has been a very stressful time for everyone., both in the factory and in the office. The only thing I can do is try to get results. I'm grateful that everything continues as it is. » assures the teammate Pedro Acosta.
On a sporting level, Binder showed confidence as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a circuit which he believes could suit the characteristics of the RC16. What works really well on this track is that it's super clean and flat, there aren't many bumps He explained.
Brad Binder: “ I expect Silverstone to be a pretty good track for us. »
« It always helps, so I hope things haven't gotten too bad over the course of the year. Honestly, I expect this to be a pretty good track for us. it was okay last year, it was okay the year before that too » he analyzes.
Despite a French Grand Prix catastrophic – double fall in Sprint and race, and failure in qualifying – Binder keeps in mind the progress made during previous tests: “ I have the impression that, already In the Jerez tests we made a good stepI felt good at Le Mans but I didn't achieve anything at all. I really want to clean this weekend. and see if we can make it a good weekend »
Finally, the pilot Red Bull KTM is preparing to face typical British weather: cold, unpredictable and potentially disruptive. I saw a low of 5°C tomorrow morning, so it's going to be quite cool. " he commented with a smile. Apparently, it's been summer here for the past two weeks... I hope this little summer lasts a little longer, but the weather is looking a bit unpredictable. »
In this uncertain context, Binder et KTM hope to turn the page on Le Mans at Silverstone and relaunch their campaign MotoGP 2025 on a solid basis.
