2024-07-06 22:05:52
The good news: KTM star Brad Binder overcame his crash luck. But “BB33” cannot fight for victory. Eighth place in the MotoGP sprint in Saxony was tough business.
KTM works rider Brad Binder has managed to get his recent disappointing record back into shape at the Sachsenring. Although the South African increased the crash statistics up to Mugello, the South African kept himself unscathed at the Sachsenring, which is quite impressive given the number of double-digit crashes on the first day of practice alone.
“BB33” was not defensive at all. Even if it was close, Binder managed to go straight into qualifying 2. From eleventh place on the grid, the RC16 racer got into the race well, as he often did. 15 laps later, the most experienced pilot in the project crossed the finish line in eighth place – making him the best KTM man, just like last time in Assen. The veteran lost nine seconds to sprint king Jorge Martin.
A fair but reluctant works driver arrived at the press centre. First, Brad Binder talked about the groundwork before the sprint race: “We made a pretty radical change to the bike this morning because we wanted to get the bike’s significant foundation under control from Friday. But we didn’t try to do that in qualifying, it was just about the best starting position and one hot lap. I didn’t hit the lap perfectly because 11th was not what I planned to do.”
As he has done many times before, the seventh-placed World Champion was looking to make up a lot of ground quickly with a rocket launch. But the plan only partially worked. “I was hoping for another great start – but it wasn’t great. I couldn’t do more than two places.”
Binder summed up the rest of the distance, which was only half as long as a Grand Prix, very succinctly: “I picked up my head and pushed until I reached the finish line.”
In the second lap, Binder pushed past Alex Márquez, but then the comeback was over. The KTM worker could not keep up with the pace of the pilots Marc Márquez, Maverick Vinales and Franky Morbidelli in front of him.
According to Binder, the experiment from free training did not provide a definitive solution. “In the sprint, the understeer was only slightly better. As before, the bike goes a long way when leaning and pulls big arcs. This is a big issue, especially at the Sachsenring, because there are sections where you have long rolling stages in very poor condition. In the end it was just frustrating when you go through the whole race with full attack – and at the line he’s eighth.”
The depressed mood is understandable and is also expressed in the world championship of builders. In the close battle for second place with the Aprilia racing department, which is looking very good at the Sachsenring after qualifying and the sprint, the Austrian lost an extra meter up to this point.
Sachsenring MotoGP results, sprint race (July 6):
1. Jorge Martin (L), Ducati, 15 Runden in 20:18.904 min
2. Miguel Oliveira (P), Aprilia, +0,676 sec
3. Francesco Bagnaia (I), Ducati, +1.311
4. Enea Bastianini (I), Ducati, +1.458
5. Franco Morbidelli (I), Ducati, +5,600
6. Marc Márquez (E), Ducati, +6,281
7. Maverick Viñales (E), Aprilia, +6,284
8. Brad binder (ZA), KTM, +9,061
9. Alex Márquez (E), Ducati, +9,201
10. Marco Bezzecchi (I), Ducati, +10,800
11. Jack Miller (AUS), KTM, +13.815
12. Fabio Di Giannantonio (I), Ducati, +13.960
13. Fabio Quartararo (F), Yamaha, +14,432
14. Raúl Fernández (E), Aprilia, +15,329
15. Luca Marini (I), Honda, +15.430
16. Augusto Fernandez (E), KTM, +15,493
17. Johann Zarco (F), Honda, +16.205
18. Takaaki Nakagami (J), Honda, +20.321
19. Stefan Bradl (D), Honda, +23,733
20. Remy Gardner (AUS), Yamaha, +26,366
21. Joan Mir (E), Honda, +26,668
22. Pedro Acosta (L), KTM, +26,715
World Championship standings after 17 of 42 races:
1. Martin, 212 Puncte. 2. Bagnaia 197. 3. Marc Marquez 146. 4. Bastianini 142. 5. Vinales 121. 6. Acosta 101. 7. Binder 101. 8. Di Giannantonio 92. 9. Aleix Espargaro 82. 103. Alex. 103 Mar. . Bezzecchi 45. 12. Morbidelli 44. 13. Oliver 41. 14. Raul Fernandez 40. 15. Quartararo 39. 16. Miller 32. 17. Augusto Fernandez 15. 18. Mir 13. 19. Za 19. 21. Nakagami 8. 22. Pedrosa 7.
World Builders Championship:
1. Ducati, 290 points. 2. April 165. 3. KTM 156. 4. Yamaha 43. 5. Honda 22.
World Cup Team:
1. Team Ducati Lenovo, 339 Points. 2. Prima Pramac Racing 256. 3. Gresini Racing MotoGP 209. 4. Aprilia Racing 203. 5. Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team 137. 6. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 133. 7. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 116. 8. Trackhouse Racing 81. 9. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 47. 10. LCR Honda 20. 11. Repsol Honda 13 .
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