Podium places are no longer within reach for KTM under its own steam – Brad Binder sees no progress – No major developments on the track at the moment
At the start of the 2024 MotoGP season, KTM could still fight for podiums. Brad Binder finished second in Qatar, rookie Pedro Acosta raced to the podium in Portimao and Austin. But for a few weeks now, the Austrian brand has no longer played a role at the front of the field
“I think we simply haven’t improved,” says Binder about the current situation. “We’re about the same as last year, but everyone else seems to have made progress. Nothing is completely wrong, we just need better performance.”
One factor is the new rear tire generation from Michelin. Even before the summer break, Binder noted that KTM was not yet able to make optimum use of this tire. Ducati in particular has made progress in this respect.
In the spring, Binder led the Barcelona sprint until he crashed. Last year, the South African won two sprints. KTM’s last Grand Prix victory on a completely dry track dates back to early summer 2021.
No other brand has been winless in the dry for so long. “It is what it is,” commented Binder. “There are also lows and valleys in racing. We’ve had a wake-up call and need to get back to where we were and get better.”
Over the course of the first half of the season, KTM did not bring any significant new developments to the race track. “A few years ago we tried out a lot more parts. Last year in particular was much quieter in this respect.” The carbon chassis in September was the highlight.
“We only get something when the test team says something is much better,” says Binder. “I think it will stay that way in the future, because it’s pointless to bring something that isn’t really better. Our test team works very well. We have two of the fastest test drivers.”
Francesco Guidotti also confirms that no major developments are tested on race weekends. “During a race weekend, we concentrate on the set-up and not on development parts.”
“You have to set up the bike well on Friday morning. If we want to test something, we do it in the second Friday practice session because it lasts an hour and the track is cleaner.” Because then you have a reference based on the track conditions and temperatures.
“Friday has become very important. If you make it straight into Q2, you can use Saturday morning’s practice differently,” says Guidotti. Because if you get straight into Q2, you can also try out other ideas in Saturday morning practice.
Out of a maximum of six possible wildcards, KTM has only used two so far. Dani Pedrosa rode in Jerez and Pol Espargaro in Mugello. Espargaro will also be on the grid in Spielberg next weekend. Whether one of the two Spaniards will also ride in Misano in September has not yet been confirmed