Brad Binder admits Red Bull tyre strategy backfired
Brad Binder says that Red Bull’s tyre gamble didn’t pay off at the Dutch TT at Assen over the weekend.
Binder secured a sixth-place finish in the race but had hoped for more to aid his push to challenge for the title.
Brad Binder laments tyre choice at Assen
“Quite a hectic race,” Binder admitted.
“I decided to go with the soft rear tire because I felt there might be more potential to go with the boys in front but the reality was that they could put down a super-fast pace with the medium and we just burnt the tire to go with them.
“It was tricky, for sure. I would have liked to have walked away with a better result but I left nothing on the table. We have some work to do. My feeling is not terrible. I understand the front limit and I didn’t crash at all this weekend. We just need to find more speed.”
In contrast to Friday and Saturday, the weather was overcast and cool as MotoGP ignited into another ‘double header’.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing assumed 9th and 14th positions on the start grid and aimed to make their usual fiery getaways.
The narrow but fast trajectory of the track demanded both stability and high agility for maximum speed and it was Binder who could find the most out of the KTM RC16 package. Choosing a soft tyre option, he throttled his way into the mid-top ten and then had to maintain his pace through a long and strategic race.
The South African secured nine points for 7th by the flag after a lonely outing and was elevated to 6th after Marc Marquez was sanctioned.
Miller, who gained some confidence through a busy scrap for top-ten consideration on Saturday, had made a decent start from the fifth row and felt content with his classification of 11th.
“Better,” Miller said.
“We made an improvement last night and was able to run a bit better pace and I had a nice fight and could gain confidence. The change we made gave me more feeling with the front end of the bike and I was happy with that.
“It’s a base level we can restart with, and fingers crossed we can still look to make some improvements.”
Work to do for Red Bull
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We have some homework to do. Overall, the weekend was not too bad. Brad had a direct Q2 on Friday and a decent Sprint considering the front tire pressure. Our expectation was a bit higher for today but he struggled to run the pace of the front group. We have some useful information and we have to work very hard in the next days. For Jack, despite the position, he has the feeling that he is ‘back’. We made a strong change from yesterday and he was growing with the new set-up. Another little point where we can start again. Let’s try for more in Germany next weekend.”
