After the first five laps, Brad Binder was back where he’d ended his rookie MotoGP season; Eleventh place at the world championship.
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With that, Binder was still the top KTM, but during the summer break he was overtaken by teammate Miguel Oliveira, who brought the latest chassis upgrades to a triple podium, including victory in Catalonia.
But the KTM seesaw has dramatically turned in Binder’s favor since the summer break, with the South African taking 48 points – including a walk-on-water victory in Austria – versus 0 points for Oliveira, who was hampered by a wrist injury.
“I feel like I needed the mid-season to almost start over and find out what I have to do to get faster,” said Binder on Thursday in Aragon. “From the first sessions in Austria after the summer break, I felt stronger and more self-confident on the bike again.
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“I’ve scored a lot of points in the last three races and I’ve felt good on the bike, so I hope the second half of the season goes as normal as my second half and I’m starting to improve in quantity.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how we do it, but I want to fight on the podium as often as possible.”
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Binder is now in sixth place in the world championship and has the chance to lead KTM to a new championship high by beating Pol Espargaro fifth overall last season.
Oliveira’s previous podium streak coincided with the introduction of a new chassis that better suits the front tire allocation in 2021 and the change in fuel supplier. Binder felt that his progress was a result of confidence rather than digging through endless technical data.
“Maybe in the last few races before the mid-season I really learned too much to figure out how to ride the bike better. Instead of just letting it happen and having a little more confidence and just, you know, sort it out “, he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I had absolutely no pressure from anyone to try something else. I think as a driver you walk different roads and try different ways to see if you can improve or what works for you.
“I realize that staring at the computer screen doesn’t help me! I just have to go out and not think and step on the gas. That works for me!
“So in the last few races I have really tried to concentrate more on my driving, just concentrate on my little circle and not look anywhere else for what I can improve. Just try to get the most out of every day.”
Throw a strong Aragon record in the past and a first dry podium of the season could be in sight for Binder on Sunday.
“I won twice here in Moto2 and I finished the World Championship in Moto3, so I have very good memories here,” he said.
“Last year was a bit tough the first time here on a MotoGP bike and we struggled a lot on the first weekend. I took a big step forward on the second weekend, but never got the extra pace we found converted to a race result because I made a mistake at Turn 2 and crashed [with Jack Miller].
“But it’s a place I’m really looking forward to and I’m really looking forward to getting started tomorrow.”