Brad Binder Endures Extreme Tyre Degradation at Sachsenring: “I Thought I Was Running Out of Fuel!”
Tyre wear took centre stage at the Sachsenring, with Brad Binder delivering one of the most striking accounts of just how punishing the German circuit can be.
The South African KTM rider’s weekend unravelled from a disappointing qualifying through to a main race dominated by severe rear tyre degradation-so severe, Binder admitted he thought his KTM was running out of fuel in the closing stages.
Binder’s frustrations began in qualifying, where expectations crashed with a 16th-place result. “Qualifying, damn… I thought I had so much more, but I ended up 16th,” Binder reflected on Saturday. “It was over, I couldn’t go any faster.” Forced to start deep in the pack, Binder’s sprint race recovery only delivered a 12th-place finish as the tyres already showed signs of stress. “I didn’t get a good start, overtook two or three riders and that was it. I had massive understeer, but I think everyone knows about it. The left side of the tyre just overheats. I need to improve that for the long race,” he admitted.
If the sprint saw the front tyre suffering, Sunday’s main event brought a new set of challenges. Binder managed to climb from 14th to 10th, but the rear tyre was on the brink. He lost out to and only managed to overtake Jack Miller, who was also battling late-race tyre issues. “I felt like I was being very gentle with my rear tyre,” Binder explained post-race. “I thought I was good with it, and told myself I’d have more left at the end. But with two laps to go, I just exploded!”
The situation rapidly deteriorated. “At first, I thought I was running out of fuel! Then I thought the tyre was deflated. Then I realised it was just destroyed. I made it to the finish, but that’s all.” Binder described the chaos between Sachsenring’s demanding corners: “Between turns 8 and 9, the bike just wouldn’t accelerate anymore. At first I thought it was an engine issue. But the degradation on the side was insane. I think the wear was crazy.”
Binder underscored the unprecedented nature of the problem: “I’ve never felt degradation on the side like that in my life. It’s the most I’ve ever experienced. In the end, tenth place-damn, I can’t believe it… Honestly, I thought I’d come back mid-race, but I just couldn’t. That’s how it is. We need to find more speed and performance.”
The KTM rider further acknowledged his history with rear tyre wear: “For years I’ve known I abuse the rear tyre, I always have the most wear, or one of the most. It’s a ranking I’ve led for years without wanting to! When Bastianini overtook me, I could see he had much more rubber left.”
Crucially, Binder dismissed the idea that his riding style was to blame on this occasion: “That’s the worst, I wasn’t pushing at all. It was a Sunday cruise, I just cooked the rear tyre. That’s not good.”
Binder highlighted Sachsenring’s unique demands as a key factor in the dramatic tyre issues: “We put so much force on the left side of the tyre. We never straighten up and never get time to breathe. It’s impressive to even manage the temperatures we’re hitting. The data is crazy, but we have massive understeer.”
He also pointed out the extreme front tyre temperatures: “The front tyre gets as hot as a normal rear. The front is very hot and right at the limit, and when you’re behind three or four riders, it just skyrockets. You can’t push, you never have the front to fight and attack. I think that makes the race a bit boring,” Binder concluded.