Decent work on Friday in both Practice 1 and 2 sessions meant both Brad Binder and Jack Miller found times in the top ten of the standings and achieved direct Q2 entry for Saturday. This helped provide a platform to increase the competitiveness of the RC16 set-up, conserve tire allocation and guarantee slots on the first rows of the grid for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s race.
During the decisive Q2 session Miller was hunting the fringes of the top five until small slips at the low-speed Turn 1 and 14 on two separate occasions foiled his attempt to be further forward. He rested in 10th and was just two tenths of a second ahead of Binder in 11th. The track’s grip level had lowered after some overnight rain and the conditions were tricky to judge for the 10-lap Sprint.
Despite a hair-raising first lap, Binder diligently applied his pace and racecraft and worked his way up to a decent 5th position. Only a few places and seconds behind was Miller, in 9th.
Commenting on his sprint performance, rider Brad Binder said: “Today was difficult. The conditions were different to what we have had so far this weekend and the grip level changed a lot. The first lap was sketchy and I struggled to roll around the corners. I lost a lot of time because of that but once I had my bearings I could move forward.
“It was a hard race today but hats-off to the team and my guys because we have made a big step from last year where we would have dreamed of being 5th. We need that last step for tomorrow and I think it will be a different story with that full race distance…but it should work in our favor.”
The stifling heat of COTA on Saturday had blown away in a stiff breeze to be replaced by sunshine and colder temperatures for the Grand Prix distances on Sunday. Jack Miller and Brad Binder throttled their KTM RC16s from the fourth row of the grid and for the 20-lap distance and it was Miller who made the sharper start around the long 20-corner layout.
At the start of the race and in a replica of the Saturday Sprint, Bagnaia and Rins battled for the lead on the opening lap. But this time there was no shaking off the Spaniard. The pressure paid off when Bagnaia crashed out of the lead, at Turn 2, on lap 8 of 20.
KTM’s Jack Miller, who had jumped from tenth to third, was leading the pursuit of the top two until a mid-race slip caused his sixth and final accident of the weekend.
Discussing his performance, rider Jack Miller said: “Unfortunate one. I felt really good from the get-go. I made a decent start, felt comfortable and was settled into the race. I swapped a map and then she let go of me. I was really trying to manage the tires and I felt we had a great chance of being there until the end.
“The positive part was the speed and how we were up there with the guys. We’ll take that from the weekend. We’ll learn from the negatives and go towards Jerez with a clean mind.”
Binder was making progress from the depths of the top ten as the group disputing positions for the top five began to close up and narrow. However, Brad spun out through Turn 15 only a few laps after Miller had departed the race. He was able to pick up the bike and rally to 13th for 3 valuable points.
In the end it was Alex Rins who crossed the line first and ended Honda’s MotoGP victory drought. The LCR rider took the lead when Ducati’s reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia crashed out just before the halfway stage.
In the last few laps, VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini later blasted past Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo to finish second and complete the podium.
After three of 21 rounds, Binder is 9th in the championship standings while Miller is close in 12th. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will be able to go for trophies again at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the Gran Premio MotoGP Guru by Gryfyn de España in two weeks.
Discussing the team’s overall weekend performance, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Francesco Guidotti said: “A tough Sunday. We cannot blame our riders today because many were on the limit with the front tires and we saw many crashes.
“The good part is that both riders felt good on the bike and we know we can do much better than this result sheet. Jack was on for the podium for half the race and then went down in a corner where he hadn’t had any warning the whole weekend. Brad had good comments. He got stuck in the first corner and ran into some moments with other riders going down. At one point he was the fastest rider on track.
“That’s racing; everybody is on the limit. We have some signs from this grand prix and that’s why we are looking forward to Jerez now.”