Can Brad Binder move up the pack in second half of the season?
Brad Binder will be looking to find a dry line in the wet Sachsenring in Germany this weekend as the riders battle out for top spots in Qualification on Saturday. Binder's team mate Pedro Acosta has looked faster than him this weekend so far, which has been laden with deluges of rain.
The new father got into the mix at Qualifying on Saturday and "scraped" a way through to the second round. Binder said there was plenty to improve on his bike before the third qualifying round and main race.
"Into Q2 with P10. Scraped through but stoked to be back in the mix Felt more solid on the bike today and got the lap in when it counted. Plenty still to improve but we're making steps every time out," Binder said.
The RC16 has been in the news this season and not for good reasons, mainly because of its lack of development due to the teams financial struggles emanating from headquarters. As a result, the bike was rumoured to be undergoing development problems in the aerodynamics department.
But KTM motorsport director Pit Beirer said these allegations were false and the company's financial troubles was not linked to the racing team's ill-performance.
During the Friday practice session, Binder cracked the top ten pace leaders and looked comfortable on the RC16. Acosta on the other hand was top five pace.
Acosta's ride with the front of the pack in practice meant the KTM was worthy of fighting at the front. There's no telling where Binder's confidence is at this point in the season but he's had a few clutch crashes that's hindered his ability to compete in the main race.
At the Italian Grand Prix, Binder crashed with Johann Zarco during the Spring race but showed he still had fight in him, claiming a top 10 finish in the main race. Binder pushed the RC16 to the absolute limit.
The South African rider has acknowledge that he needs to better his performance over the single lap. At the last race in Amsterdam, he qualified in 16th place, making like on Sunday really difficult aside from the Dutch heat eating through the tyres quicker than usual.
Again, he fought through, managed his tyres as best as he could and took home a P11 finish.
Now with the German GP ahead of him, fans and arguably Binder himself are hoping to make a break into the top ten and take home some points. Binder's 13th on the rider standings while Acosta has leaped ahead to 8th place.
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