English
Italiano
The Sprint races once again this year proved to be a hunting ground for the pairing of Brad Binder and KTM, who came in second place in the short race in Qatar. Only Jorge Martin managed to get the better of the South African rider, author of a phenomenal start which allowed him to threaten the Pramac team rider from Madrid right from the start.
“I made a fantastic start, my bike was a missile on the straight. It was fantastic and it was great to get back to racing, because I was getting bored just lapping and I missed giving my all in the race - commented Brad at the end of the race - I'm very happy with the management of the bike when braking and entering corners. We have made a big step forward from where we were last year. In any case, we're still a bit lacking in acceleration. We'll try to find a little more grip during the night and we'll see."
The first race of the year showed how the work carried out by the Mattighofen manufacturer in the pre-season has allowed it to get significantly closer to the Ducatis, but Binder is aware that the RC16 still lacks something to be able to beat the Demosedicis. Despite following Martin like a shadow, the South African never had the opportunity to attempt an attack, finishing the race half a second behind the winner.
“Jorge and I were racing on two different tracks. In the sense that I gained when braking and entering corners, while he gained when he lifted the bike and opened the throttle. He used the rear tyre a lot while I didn't have the same level of grip as him. This is what I'm looking for for tomorrow, because my bike is capable of doing many things in an incredible way compared to last year, but we still need to improve on corner exit and if we can do that we can go very far - said Brad, underlining the progress of the KTM - Now everything comes more naturally to me because I feel I have more margin when braking and entering corners. We just have to maintain these sensations and be able to find something more when we get the bike back up."
Strengthened by the potential shown in Qatar, the KTM rider looks to the future with confidence. Starting with tomorrow's Grand Prix.
“When you do many laps during the winter you can't see where you make the difference. You see the times, but you don't know how you got them and now it's quite clear that our strong point is corner entry, because we have incredible speed when cornering - he observed - I want to win and last night I went to sleep knowing that maybe I could have done it. Clearly we missed something today, but we will continue to work and fight. However, my team did an excellent job and everything worked perfectly from start to finish, which is why I am convinced that we can do even better tomorrow."
