Brad Binder certainly did not win two Grands Prix during the 2022 MotoGP season, as did his teammate, who has since left for the Aprilia camp, Miguel Oliveira, but he was indeed the most convincing on the RC16. Sixth in the final general classification of the championship, the South African showed consistency and combativeness, the latter point being proven by his 96 overtakes recorded in races during this campaign. And yet this KTM is not the best opus on the board. Well, not quite yet, because Brad Binder thinks that in 2023, things will be different…
Brad Binder assures him, from Aragon and the installation of a new version of the RC16 in his box, KTM is on track to play in the big leagues. In an interview given to speedweek, he says : " we made progress in September and we caught up a lot with the competition. We are getting closer to the summit. It is indisputable ". By specifying the difficulties encountered, he at the same time reveals the amount of work carried out in the Mattighofen workshops: “ we had small disadvantages in all areas. We didn't have the best braking, we didn't have the most incredible corners and our corner exit behavior wasn't fantastic ».
« But then we made small advances in all these areas, and we could already see it in the test of Misano. Many small steps added up to better lap times. From theAragon, we have really improved ».
Brad Binder: “personne ne reste les bras croisés, toutes les usines, tous les ingénieurs travaillent en permanence"
There were also other pitfalls that Brad Binder divided into two areas: “ When we rode on tracks with little grip, we performed very well in sessions and qualifying. But our opponents could use the new tires more to their advantage than us, if the tread provided them with sufficient grip. We were stronger on slippery surfaces, which is why we had a very low level of grip. This year I noticed that when the slopes were slippery, it helped us a lot ».
And there is also this, which is the consequence of the first problem: “ we also needed to understand exactly why we weren't competitive in terms of single-round performance. But, as I said, from Aragon we have improved in this regard. However, qualifications remain a weak point on certain avenues, on which we must work ».
About work, Brad Binder confirms that the pace has changed in MotoGP… “ No one sits idly by. All factories, all engineers work constantly. We see improvements every weekend. Of course, KTM also works tirelessly. Unfortunately, we experienced temporary difficulties in the spring when the competition took a step forward ". However, he repeats: “ we are gaining ground on our adversaries. We are getting closer to the summit. It's undeniable ". We will recall the evaluation of Charles Pernat on the season of KTM "I expected more growth this year, given that Sterlacchini has been there for two years. Maintenant ils ont pris Giribuola comme responsable du développement de la deuxième équipe; prendre Miller et Populin et avoir un pilote comme Binder à la maison. Ce sera une année très importante pour l’usine KTM, qui doit franchir le pas qu’elle n’a pas encore franchi.”
