Red Bull KTM man came agonisingly close to taking the chequered flag in the sprint race.
Another tough weekend in Jerez had Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM searching for answers ahead of Monday’s official MotoGP testing at the same venue.
A downpour late in the sprint race on Saturday put Binder in a position to break his podium duck after switching bikes, but in reality it was still a mediocre weekend for the orange garage.
Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini took his RC16 over the line in eighth place as the leading KTM in the main race on Sunday. Binder and his factory team-mate Pedro Acosta finished in 11th and 10th place respectively as Alex Marquez won on a Ducati to break Aprilia’s winning streak.
Searching for answers
As a result, Acosta slipped from third to fourth in the title race, while Binder climbed one spot to 11th. Aprilia factory pair Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin are still at the top of the premier class standings.
“A really challenging weekend here in Jerez. The weather probably helped us on Saturday, but the reality is that we struggled to keep the good pace today,” Aji Ako, Red Bull KTM team manager.
“We have to analyze why our performance is not at the level of the last races. A positive point is that we have some time to look at our data for tomorrow and we have to use our testing hours wisely here in Jerez.”
Bittersweet for Brad Binder
Binder just missed out on Q2 on Saturday and started the sprint race 13th on the grid. He was lying outside the points when the heavens opened and timed his visit to the pit lane to perfection. He lead the race as the rest of the field pitted, but surrendered it by slipping to eventually finish in fourth place behind winner Marc Marquez.
“I felt like I timed my pit-entry well but from one lap to the next there was so much water. When I braked in the same place I lost the front, slid off, picked up and carried on,” Binder told the KTM website.
“To bail and still finish fourth is pretty good, so happy about that. A bit unfortunate because I would have loved to have won again. Another day.”
In Moto3, teenager Ruché Moodley failed to convert his 14th place on the starting grid by finishing in 22nd place.
MotoGP returns next week for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
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