Maverick Vinales has given the orange garage reason to be more optimistic of late.
Brad Binder will look to further improve on what has been a disappointing MotoGP season so far at the French Gand Prix at the weekend.
Binder recorded his best finish of sixth place at the last outing in Spain two weeks ago, but knows he is capable of much more. After five rounds, the Red Bull KTM rider is 11th in the world championship on 32 points. That is more than a hundred points off title race leaders Alex (140) and Marc Marquez (139).
“I still need to work on my all-out pace. I’m not fast enough,” Binder said after the Spanish Grand Prix.
“My consistency was good, but I just need that extra speed. I need to find that small extra comfort to be able to push on again.”
Brad Binder upbeat after testing
While Binder and his team-mate Pedro Acosta (33 points) are leading the charge for KTM in the title race, the recent form of Maverick Vinales has given the orange garage lots of hope. The Tech3 rider came fourth in the main race in Spain and was also the second fastest during testing the day after the race at Jerez.
Binder was also confident after the official testing session, during which he posted the 13th fastest time.
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“We tried some different chassis modifications and it feels pretty positive and it has definitely helped my weakest point from the weekend, which was edge grip. My drive is slightly better, my feeling is coming along,” he said.
Upward curve
KTM technical director Sebastian Risse believes the feedback from testing will put his riders in good stead.
“We are also working for the future in terms of aero homologation, chassis and electronics: in all these areas we made gains with data. We’ll be busy with analysis in the coming weeks and to bring the positives back to the track as soon as possible,” Risse said.
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Acosta, who underwent surgery on a troublesome arm after Jerez, was cleared to race in France.
The lights go out for the sprint race in France at 3pm on Saturday and 2pm for the main race on Sunday.
Moodley out with injury
After missing out on the points in Spain, Brad Binder’s brother Darry Binder will be looking to bounce back at the 4.19km Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix track. The Gresini Moto2 rider is 17th in the title race.
It is unlikely teenager Ruché Moodley will return to the track any time after undergoing surgery on a fractured wrist after the Spanish MotoGP. The Denssi/BOE Motorsport rider, who scored points in three of his first four starts, broke his right wrist in a first-round crash at Jerez.
