2023-11-26 00:05:21
Brad Binder lost only 0.190 seconds to winner Jorge Martin in the 13-lap sprint in Valencia. And since the fast South African hasn’t won since the rainy GP in Spielberg in August 2021, he wants to go all out again in the finale on Sunday. “I told Brad he has nothing left to lose, we want him to come back to the Bix as a winner on Sunday,” smiled his efficient crew chief Andres Madrid on Saturday evening.
Did Red Bull KTM factory rider Brad Binder, who loves fighting and has a strong duel, learn something in the sprint that can benefit him for Sunday? “We have to improve in sector 2,” says Brad. “We could also use a small step in Sector 3. If we can find some time there, we could be stronger. I did well in T1 and T4.”
“We have had problems with understeer in the last three Grand Prix,” reported Binder. “In the sprint on Saturday, the understeer started to become very severe after lap 8 or 9. That is a point that I would like to solve for Sunday.”
Binder fought against World Championship candidate Jorge Martin, who took his ninth sprint victory. Did he identify weak points in the Ducati rider? «No, because you can right the bike after the corners and thunder off. I have to turn faster and roll faster to make up the time. The Ducati make time when they turn up the gas and get the drive they need. We lack the ‘edge grip’. It was the same as it had been all year. The Ducati has more mechanical grip on the edge of the tire. If we brake and turn and the rear tire floats, we are already sideways before we open the throttle fully. We have to fix this. The Ducati drive like they’re on rails; “We swim a little more at the back.”
Did Brad act a little more reserved than usual in the duel against Jorge Martin because the Spaniard is fighting for the World Cup? “No, those kinds of thoughts don’t concern me during the race.”
Brad Binder’s KTM RC16 with the precious carbon chassis broke in two in the crash at the end of Q2. “There’s a big step in the gravel bed. When I touched that step my bike was thrown into the air. I didn’t have it as bad as Bezzecchi on Friday, but there’s definitely an obstacle hidden in the gravel. I think they improved the place a bit, because at least I wasn’t thrown up to the moon today. But ‘Bez’ went up there like a rocket.”
Binder: “I have had a number of crashes with the carbon chassis, but none were as bad as the one in Q2 on Saturday. In the other falls I fell very conscientiously…”
Result MotoGP Sprint, Valencia (November 25th):
1. Martin, Ducati, 13 Rdn in 19:38,827 min
2. Binder, KTM, + 0,190 sec
3. Marc Márquez, Honda, +2,122
4. Viñales, Aprilia, +3,106
5. Bagnaia, Ducati, +4,253
6. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +4,400
7. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +4,502
8. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 5,578
9. Zarco, Ducati, +5,910
10. Augusto Fernández, KTM, +6,095
11. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, +7,674
12. Miller, KTM, + 8,098
13. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 9.513
14. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +12,453
15. Bastianini, Ducati, +12,599
16. Nakagami, Honda, +13,787
17. Marini*, Ducati, + 13,887
18. Morbidelli*, Yamaha, + 14,943
19. Kidneys, Honda, +20,378
20. Savadori, Aprilia, + 25,017
– Quartararo, Yamaha, 9 laps back
*= 3 second penalty (tire pressure offense)
MotoGP World Championship standings after 38 of 39 races:
1. Bagnaia, 442 Punkte. 2. Martin 428. 3. Bezzecchi 329. 4. Binder 277. 5. Zarco 205. 6. Aleix Espargaró 198. 7. Viñales 198. 8. Marini 194. 9. Alex Márquez 167. 10. Quartararo 167. 11. Miller 163. 12. Di Giannantonio 138. 13. Marc Márquez 96. 14. Morbidelli 93. 15. Bastianini 84. 16. Oliveira 76. 17. Augusto Fernández 71. 18. Rins 54. 19. Nakagami 52. 20. Raúl Fernández 40 21. Pedrosa 32. 22. Mir 26. 23. Pol Espargaró 13. 24. Savadori 9. 25. Folger 9. 26. Bradl 8. 27. Pirro 5. 28. Petrucci 5. 29. Crutchlow 3.
Constructors’ World Championship:
1. Ducati, 675 points (world champion). 2. KTM 357. 3. Aprilia 215. 4. Yamaha 187. 5. Honda 181.
Team World Cup:
1. Prima Pramac Racing, 633 Punkte (Weltmeister). 2. Ducati Lenovo Team 536. 3. Mooney VR46 Racing 523. 4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 440. 5. Aprilia Racing 396. 6. Gresini Racing 305. 7. Monster Energy Yamaha 260. 8. Repsol Honda 122. 9. CryptoDATA RNF 120. 10. LCR Honda 112. 11. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 93.
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