The slowest KTM rider at Assen, Brad Binder, cannot explain his lack of pace, which penalized him throughout the weekend.
Brad Binder seemed more comfortable on the KTM since the Aragon Grand Prix. He had been riding closer to the front for the past two race weekends, even though he was still missing something. But in the Netherlands, he experienced one of his worst weekends since joining MotoGP, according to him.
The South African was never able to find any pace and was at the back of the standings: 20th in FP1, 18th in Practice, 19th in FP2, then qualified in 16th place. In the sprint race on Saturday, he managed to climb back up to 10th place but did not score any points, as they are reserved for the top nine.
In yesterday's main race, he struggled at the start, which is usually his strong point, before gradually making progress, taking advantage of the crashes in front of him and making a few overtakes. Tenth for most of the race, he finally lost to Fabio Quartararo four laps from the finish and took the checkered flag in 10th position.
His teammate Pedro Acosta finished fourth, while Tech3 riders Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini finished fifth and ninth, despite the Italian being the KTM rider who has had the most difficulties so far this season. Brad Binder has no answer to its underperformance yet.
"There's not much to say.", he acknowledged during his debriefing. “I didn't have any pace all weekend, starting in FP1. I felt like I was stuck on the same lap time. I could replicate it but not be faster. It was one of my toughest weekends in MotoGP. I'm really lacking speed. It's frustrating, but at least I was able to finish both races. It's time to start from scratch, do my homework, and figure it out. Next stop: Sachsenring. A different track, but one I still enjoy.”
Results Grand Prix From the Netherlands :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
