Brad Binder joked that he felt like the Jerez was track surface was “melting”, such was the lack of grip afforded to him in Saturday’s sprint race.
The factory KTM racer romped to win his second MotoGP sprint race in four contests after getting the better of team-mate Jack Miller in the closing laps, chiefly because he looked after his rear Michelin tyre more effectively in the extreme heat seen during the afternoon at the Spanish venue.
The South African admitted it was tough to get his bearings in the early circulations of the sprint race due to the lack of grip relative to qualifying and practice, describing the track as feeling like it was “melting” as a result of the high temperatures felt during the afternoon.
“It’s so hot out there, the track feels like its melting and there’s barely any grip, completely different to the rest of the weekend so you really have to adjust all your markers, but in the sprint race you don’t have time to do that as you have to get stuck straight in,” explained Binder.
“I had to give it a good send (Turn 6 move on Miller for lead) because Jack and I ride really similarly which makes it trickier to overtake, so I had to time things right and to get the move done felt incredible.
“I felt strong throughout the race, and we’ll try to make some changes for tomorrow and hopefully fix my weak points.
“I’d love to fight again for the podium tomorrow, I believe the longer races are where we can excel so I’ll make sure to get a good night sleep and get going again tomorrow.
“I’m satisfied to get the win but tomorrow will be hard, and we need to perform.”
Binder continued to heap praise on his team for the continued impressive performance KTM has been capable of so far in 2023, with Miller completing the rostrum in the Jerez sprint race ahead of the Austrian marque’s test rider Dani Pedrosa, who claimed an impressive sixth in his first motorcycle race encounter in two years.
He felt Pedrosa’s work in the recent Jerez test was critical to the manufacturer’s strong performance so far in Spain, adding that he believes “if I do a great job I can win” any race with KTM’s updated challenger.
“It’s fantastic to walk away with two sprint victories, the first one I didn’t expect at all and the second was one that I knew I needed,” continued Binder.
“I’m super happy with the way everything has gone so far, I need to say a massive thank you to the team as they have done an unreal job with the test, as has Dani (Pedrosa, KTM test rider) to bring such a good bike here from the test.
“This year I truly believe that if I do a great job I can win which is the best feeling in the world and I can’t thank KTM enough for bringing a competitive machine, which is working especially well here, so we’ll keep fighting and see how we get on over the rest of the season.”
