KTM played no part in the thrilling battle for victory at the Australian Grand Prix. Brad Binder finished tenth, just under six seconds behind the winner. As is so often the case, the South African pulled the coals out of the fire in the race.
But why did KTM struggle at Phillip Island? Even in free practice, all four drivers missed the direct entry into Q2. And even in the first section, the leap into Q2 was ultimately not within reach.
“From what I’ve seen, we’re not taking enough speed [in die Kurve] with”, Binder explains the special track characteristics. “Other drivers have a higher average when we change direction.”
“On this track you can’t attack anywhere on the brakes or try anything to make up time that we lose in the fluid part. But my team has worked well to improve the feeling for these sections.”
Teammate Miguel Oliveira confirms these impressions: “We’re just not fast enough. You need a lot of grip and good turning. It’s difficult to find that.” Race winner Alex Rins proved how important this aspect was with the Suzuki.
Binder didn’t want to go easy on the tires
Binder attacked from sixth row starting position 16. “I had a very good start and passed five or six riders. In turn 4, a few riders touched. When they straightened their bikes, I was on the outside.”
“As a result, I lost a lot of positions again,” said the South African. “I attacked as hard as I could and caught the group in front of me. I overtook a few and saw that everyone was conserving their tyres.”
“That’s when I realized I was going to have problems at the end of the race. But I decided to try something and maybe have tire problems than just compete. We were missing a second all weekend, or at least 0.6 seconds.”
“In the race we were five and a half seconds behind the winner. Our performance in the race was clearly better. Of course I’m not satisfied with the result because we can do a lot better.”
Oliveira is catching up from last on the grid
Oliveira was 24th and last on the grid after receiving two penalties after qualifying. “As expected, it was a tough race,” says the Portuguese. “Overtaking was difficult because it’s such a fluid and fast track.”
“It was also difficult to overtake in the slipstream. That’s a chance out of the last corner. That’s why it took a few laps to overtake drivers. I lost time and saved the tires. But in the end I didn’t have more.”
“Maybe I could have caught up with Pol if I could have passed Darryn and Cal earlier.” Oliveira therefore draws a sober conclusion: “Finishing 12th from the last place on the grid with a long-lap penalty is what it is like.”
The Tech 3 duo was back at the back of the pack. Remy Gardner captured a championship point in 15th place at his home race. Raul Fernandez crossed the finish line directly behind him in 16th place.