Binder in search for Zen on track
BRAD Binder currently finds himself in the pursuit of happiness, searching for Zen on the track to reach nirvana and balance his expectation, business and pleasure as he endeavours a return to confidence and winning ways.
And his recent victory at the Austrian GP, he admitted last week, will go a long way to achieving that state of transcendence as man and machine pursue the goal of becoming one after a tough 2021 season. Indeed, it took Binder over 12 months to grab his second victory in spectacular style last weekend when he negotiated wet-track conditions to beat the chasing pack by nearly 10 seconds.
Said Binder of that victory: “I had to wait a whole year and a week to win the second one so I’ll say it took a lot longer than what I wanted.
“It is not easy,” he continued, “MotoGP is no joke. You are racing against the best guys in the world on the fastest machines in the world. To have gotten a second win was fantastic but it is not where I want to be. I want to be fighting for the podium every weekend. I want to keep my level on top and always be fighting for the wins.”
If there seems to be an edge of frustration in Binder’s words, then many would find that unsurprising, despite the affable nature of the 27-year-old.
The Red Bull KTM rider battled to make an immediate impact on the racing calendar this year after a pre-season promised so much more, and an excellent debut year in the elite class in 2020 hinted at quick success. Despite an underwhelming start, Binder and his team have worked tirelessly to make their bike more competitive, and although podiums have been scarce, in recent months there has been a notable turnaround in their fortunes.
Teammate Miguel Oliveira was the first to profit from that volte-face, first securing a second-place finish in Italy, following that up with a fantastic win at the Catalan GP and then placing for another second in Germany in consecutive race weekends.
“This year has not been quite what we wanted, for sure,” Binder explained. “We expected a whole lot more.
“From Qatar (the first race of the season) we realised that we were maybe a couple steps further behind than where we really wanted to be. It was really difficult up until Mugello (the Italian GP) to be strong and to really have good finishes.
“From Mugello onwards we got a small update – a different type of fuel that gave us a little bit more power and on top of that we got a chassis that definitely gave us a little bit more when turning. It made us more competitive and we were able to be a lot stronger, not only for one lap, but also over race distances.
“That was a good step up to be made … Things have been getting better, the guys are working hard and I expect there will be a few more updates in the coming races.”
Binder’s biggest failing this season has been his pace over one lap. It has seen him battle in qualifying to break consistently into the top 10, and always chasing the leading pack from the onset. In this regard he has done brilliantly, in spite of having to fight his way through the grid. In the 11 races so far this year, he has managed to finish in the top 5 on six occasions, including that heart-stopping win at the Red Bull Ring last week.
It is an aspect of his race that the Krugersdorp-native is working on, but where the team has also not quite gotten it right.
“It’s unfortunate that I have not been fantastic in doing one fast lap and that is all that qualifying is,” said Binder. “Normally, if I can do it once, I can do it 20 times.
“It’s really difficult when you are starting, for example, back in 16th and you need to get past the guys because you lose so much time in the first two or three laps where you are just mixing it up with all the guys and everyone is trying to make up positions. That gets a little bit sketchy.
“I think the big thing we are missing at Red Bull Ring was when we put on a new tyre, we didn’t have that big gain traction that everyone else had,” he explained. “We were losing a lot of time out of the small corners. That’s why qualifying was extremely difficult for us.
“A couple times this year, it’s been going to tracks for the first time where I have never been on a MotoGP bike where it always seems to take me a little bit too much time to really learn where I am going and how to make the lap time there. Normally, by Sunday at the race, I’m okay but by Saturday afternoon I haven’t quite worked it out yet.”
This weekend Binder will find himself at Silverstone competing for the first time in the MotoGP category and he is hoping that he will find his feet quickly there.
“It’s strange … some tracks I go to I have no problem at all; adapting to them on the MotoGP bike, like Mugello for instance. I think I was top five every session, which was really cool.
“And then I get to other tracks, like Sachsenring (the German GP), where I normally do really good but I was really just off the pace every session and the only good session was the race where I managed to come back through to fourth.
“Silverstone is an extremely long track and it can always be tricky with the weather. The big thing there is that time on track is so crucial – we don’t have much of it. If it goes and rains two, three sessions then you go into the race with not much knowledge of all the breaking markers, or exactly how to make the lap time.
“I’m going into Silverstone with an open mind and I hope it is one of those tracks that I adapt to quickly.”
If his previous seasons are anything to go by, then Binder and South Africa are in for one helluva ride. Binder has a propensity to finish off seasons much stronger then what he started them and his Austrian GP might be the gatekeeping event that now releases the reinvigorated South African to more success in the remaining six or seven races.
Binder certainly has the hunger and drive, and with KTM’s hours of blood and sweat backing him, the bike to power him to a few more victories as the season comes to a close. Transcendence awaits ... Binder’s season thus far: Qatar: 14th; Doha: 8th; Portugal: 5th; Spain: Retired; France 13th; Italy: 5th; Catalan: 8th; Germany: fourth; Netherlands: 12th; Styrian: 4th; Austria: 1st
Current world riders’ championship standing: 6th on 98 points
Current constructors’ championship standing: Red Bull KTM 3rd on 152 points