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2020 Rookie of the Year knows what he has to do to score more victories
Three-time race winners in 2020, KTM’s four-rider squad is ready to fight for the big prize in 2021
33 BRAD BINDER
Brad Binder made an instant impact in his debut MotoGP campaign last year and was seriously fast straight out of the box. The South African won in only his third-ever premier class race at Brno to become the first rookie to win since Marc Marquez in 2013. Binder had arrived. The rest of the season was a little tougher but he did manage to record two more top five results. Getting his first win so quickly was, perhaps in some ways, a negative thing for Binder as it raised people’s expectations, and some may have forgotten that he was still a rookie who had plenty to learn about riding a MotoGP bike. There were crashes, and there were mistakes. The important thing is that Binder acknowledges this and throughout the year was always clear on what he needed to work on. “One of the big things for me last season was that in many races I had the pace, but I was perhaps a little bit too keen to try and do crazy things,” Binder admitted during KTM’s 2021 team launch. “I’ve had this off-season to understand what I’ve been doing and to try to improve all my weak points, and I come into the season much more relaxed because I understand the category and I know more or less how things stand at this stage.”
Binder admits that he still has a bit of a Moto2 riding style on the RC16, but he says it suits the bike rather well. One area he’s keen to work on is the corner exit, something which had bothered him throughout the 2020 season.
So, what about the RC16? The bike won three times last season and all three results came in the dry. That’s the same dry wins as Suzuki (2) and Ducati (1) combined. Pol Espargaro also clinched five podiums for the manufacturer, who only joined the premier class in 2017. The bike has certainly come a very long way thanks not only to Pol Espargaro’s work, but also Dani Pedrosa’s efforts as test rider. KTM’s new-style frame was certainly a huge positive last year and made the bike much easier to ride and even better on the brakes. Top speed isn’t an issue either, but consistency from one track to another is, and the bike’s performance was often subject to temperature change – this is an area that needs to be a key part of KTM’s 2021 programme.
Binder will be reunited with former Moto2 crew chief, Andres Madrid, this year and will be racing against long-term KTM teammate, and rival, Miguel Oliveira. That relationship should be fascinating now they’re both factory riders fighting for the top prize in motorcycle racing.
‘I was a little too keen to try to do crazy things’