Brad Binder delivered one of the performances of the weekend in MotoGP when he achieved the best result of the year for KTM with fifth on the grid.
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It was a brilliant start for the South African as he was in the top ten after just a few corners.
Binder was able to stay in the top group for most of the race and fought a lengthy battle for sixth with Aleix Espargaro.
But after the falls of Alex Rins and Johann Zarco, Binder was promoted to a top 5 position and even made it onto the podium in the further course of the race.
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However, Binder was at the limit for most of the race and couldn’t quite close the gap to Franco Morbidelli.
Binder summed up his weekend in comparison to Doha: “Definitely a little better. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made in the race.
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“It was really good to break a top five, especially when you had such a tough weekend. It was difficult to be strong, but in general I have to say that we worked hard this weekend and the pace was pretty strong in the race.
“It was frustrating to see the podium fight ahead of me and I just couldn’t quite get there. I think 5th place today was a good job and we will continue to work on hopefully taking a few steps forward in Jerez . ” . “
Binder occasionally had the pace to keep up with the leading group, but could not drive the laps needed to catch up consistently and described it as a bit “overzealous” to sniff a podium.
“I was really, really at the limit. I pushed super hard and in one lap I was able to break through the 40s, but then I made a 1: 40.3s and made a few small mistakes over the course of the lap,” added the 25- Year olds.
“I think maybe I was just a little overzealous. You know when you will see the podium is there and it seems like a distant memory of the weekend so far.
“If the podium is in sight then just do what you can. I gave it my all and unfortunately we couldn’t get close enough to get into this fight.”
Over the weekend it was rumored that Dani Pedrosa could appear as a potential wildcard this season as he recently completed another test for the Austrian manufacturer.
But when asked about it, Binder didn’t know about the news and isn’t sure what Pedrosa tested.
“Honestly, it’s the first time I’ve heard of this. I’m sure my team is, but I’m not following the testing program at all,” added Binder.
“Sure, Dani [Pedrosa] tests things for us but honestly I have no idea what they are or what they are using or doing right now.
“I’m sure they have a clear direction on what we need – well, we have a clear direction – and I’m sure Dani will work for us on those points.”