Brad Binder was far from the points in the Sprint race of the MotoGP Qatar GP, finishing 14th. Even more concerning were the feelings he experienced on Saturday.
The Red Bull KTM rider stated: ‘The Sprint was horrendous! I went off track four times in 11 laps, so that’s really not good. As the tyre started to drop, I just tried to keep my corner speed the same, I started to chatter a lot, and I lost the front, and went off track a few times. So, I was really lucky to save the crashes to be honest, but it was really tricky out there – super, super tricky. For sure, going for the soft rear tyre wasn’t the right decision, but it was the least of my worries out there to be honest’.
The vibrations affected both the front and rear wheels depending on the corners, although it’s the rear vibrations that made things hardest for Binder – who ruled out a major change to the bike: ‘I don’t think a radical change is going to make a big difference. We need to try and stop some of these vibrations. If we manage to stop them, it’s the only way we can really go forward’.
According to #33, there have been occasional positive signs: ‘It’s not easy for us at the moment, for sure. But there have been glimmers where we seem to be getting things right. It’s just when it shows its dark side, it’s really difficult. And, to be honest, the result could not have been terrible if had I stayed in the freaking track. But it’s a lot easier said than done with the amount of chatter we got’.