Red Bull Ring, Austria: In front of nearly 94,000 fans at a sun-splashed CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, Brad Binder took his second podium in as many races to follow up his second-placed finish in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
As MotoGP reached its halfway point in the season, Jack Miller classified 15th in the race after a strong start where he challenged for the top three spots in the early stages of the race. Despite the Australian’s competitive start, he encountered traction issues which dropped him down the order to take the final GP point of the race.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing recorded faster times at the Red Bull Ring compared to 2022, a positive sign of the progress being made this season, and built up the hype around the team ahead of the 28-lap race on Sunday. Binder and Miller began 3rd and 4th on the starting grid respectively.
At the start both riders powered passed Maverick Vinales into the leading positions. Binder was snapping at the heels of Championship leader Bagnaia to try force a mistake.
Miller fought hard to hold on to third in the early stages of the race, however it wasn’t enough to hold off Alex Marquez. The Australian began to struggle for rear traction and ultimately drifted back in the clutches of those in pursuit.
Binder followed close behind the race leader Francesco Bagnaia for much of the race. However, at the halfway point, the South African started to lose rear grip like his teammate. For the remainder of the race Binder conserved his tyres, conceding seconds but ultimately managing to take second-place for the second race running.
Binder has equalled his personal best points haul of 2023 and pulled to within 23 points of the top three in the championship standings. Jack made the line in 15th. Red Bull KTM are ranked 4th in the Teams table and the company is the 2nd best manufacturer.
Taking home another podium finish, Brad Binder said: “I knew from yesterday that we were looking for drive grip but I did everything I could; protect where I could and push where I could on the brakes.
“I tried to keep him [Francesco Bagnaia] honest in the first half of the race but there was a moment where the rear grip just said ‘goodbye…’ and I knew I had to be clever and just bring the bike home.
“The team made another huge step from yesterday to today and I could brake so much later and so much harder. We still have a bit of work to do but I cannot thank them enough. It is awesome to be on the podium twice here in Austria and at their home Grand Prix.”
Reflecting on the race in Austria, rider Jack Miller said: “I started the race good and tried not to kill the tire in the first laps. I wanted to build up the temperature as smooth as possible. It wasn’t to be.
“I noticed that I didn’t have the drive grip that I needed, so then I was just trying to manage the best I could with riding style and everything like that. I think the biggest thing for us is taking a step back, going back to our old setting and maybe finding a little bit of a different direction to work for myself.”
After securing another podium this weekend, Red Bull KTM Team Manager Francesco Guidotti said: “Another good result for Brad and a second podium here. At the moment we are not able to catch the world champion who is in his best form but Brad fought like a lion, as usual.
“Second place was hard-won because the conditions were tough but he managed the race so well. Another brick in building our future. We are very confident after the last few grands prix.
“With Jack we suffered again in the second half of the race and we need to understand what is happening and how we can help him because he cannot ride like he wants. He can be better and we have to give him the support for that potential. We’ll enjoy our podium today but we’ll look towards round eleven and the next GPs for more.”
Next up, MotoGP will swing the series around the popular Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the second visit to the Spanish mainland this year.