Brad Binder is the rider who gained the most positions during the racing season with his KTM RC16. He came to fruition in 2021 with plenty of opportunism on his employer's land during an epic finale accomplished in the rain on a slick tire. He has two absolute successes with the Austrian machine, but this panache which brightens up Sundays is almost never seen at qualifying time on Saturday. A particularity which does not date from MotoGP and which, in this heightened modern competition, could be detrimental to it. But to hear the South African, he will make do with it…
Brad Binder points in the statistics of the 2021 season at the top of the ranking of a ranking list the drivers who moved up the most places in the race. The RC16 driver did not hesitate, showing great consistency which brought him to the edge of the top 5 in the championship, a missed milestone of only 22 units. He also proved his ability to overtake by going back no less than 116 positions over the entire season.
But this panache is also an obligation for the team member Miguel Oliveira. Because he is never flamboyant on Saturday, when the positions on the starting grid are decided. It's very simple, despite two completed seasons, Brad Binder has not yet entered the top 5 of a MotoGP grid. A score which is not inevitable. On Motorsport-total, he explains it like this: “ I use the front tire more than the other guys. I brake harder and usually later. And if the front tire doesn't offer enough support, there's not much you can do ».
Brad Binder suffered in qualifying well before MotoGP
So he reveals himself in racing condition, and he prefers to talk about it with a smile: “ of course I would like to be fast on Friday, but it's better to be slow on Friday, slow on Saturday, but not so slow on Sunday ", said the eldest Binder who adds mischievously: “ fortunately, because without that I won't have any work to do ».
Less than Brad Binder doesn't say it all... The front tire Michelin certainly bothers him but if we follow his career, we see that, already in the Moto2 category, the Saturday problem arose. If he achieved eight victories and a total of 15 podiums in three years from 2017 to 2019, during the qualifying sessions, on the other hand, he only placed in the top 3 six times during the same period, including once in pole position…
When reminded of this trend, he responds: “ in the end, that's how it is : once you have developed a good feeling and can take it from track to track, it goes by itself ". At least so far he has found this good feeling mainly on Sundays…
