Having struggled for several Grands Prix, Brad Binder seemed to find solutions during the test, even if he still has a lot of work to do.
Brad Binder started his season well before experiencing two complicated Grands Prix in the United States and Qatar, with results outside the top 10 and a retirement due to a technical problem. The cause was a lack of grip under braking, which penalized him and which he was unable to correct, despite KTM's attempts. Things finally started to improve at the Spanish Grand Prix, which he finished in sixth place on Sunday, his best result of the season.
The main challenge for the South African in Monday's test was to find solutions to the grip deficit, which had been hampering him somewhat during the sessions and the race. But it's hard to predict any truly concrete results with all the rubber left on the track, which offers a lot of grip. Binder So he concentrated his work in the morning, before the grip increased with all the drivers on track.
“The test went well. We tried different chassis modifications and the feeling was really positive. It really helped with my weak point from the last Grands Prix, which was the grip at the apex. My riding is slightly better and my feeling has improved. I did a comparison in the morning before there were too many people on the track, with several consecutive bike changes, and there was clearly something there.”, he told crash.net.
Ninth in the morning session and 13th in the afternoon session, he finished the day in 14th position in the combined times, but without having been truly focused on the classification, as is often the case during tests. Although he drove slower than in the Grand Prix, with a best time of 1:37 compared to 055:1 for his qualifying time, he was satisfied with his day and ready to face the next Grand Prix, at Le Mans, next week.
"I'm pretty confident about the settings [found] and happy with the progress. There's still a lot to test, but we're fine-tuning to be ready for the rest of the season."he concluded.
