Sachsenring, Germany – Next up in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team was Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring which attracted over 98,000 fans on Sunday.
30 laps of the 3.6km layout of never-ending corners which the KTM team hoped to better their 8th and 11th finishes in Saturday’s Sprint.
Mixed weather conditions of chilly winds, hot summer sunshine, and finally overcast conditions meant the riders had challenging circumstances with track temperature certain to rise and fall over the race.
Brad Binder made the better start out of the two KTM riders, but Jack Miller also looked sharp off the line and heading into the first tight and technical corner. Having started in 11th, Brad managed to climb as high as 7th alongside future teammate Pedro Acosta.
But on the final tour of the circuit, Brad almost fell going into Turn 11 and ran off track briefly losing out on two positions which sealed a 9th -placed finish. Jack was ultimately limited by his tyre life and had to manage them throughout the race to come home 13th at the flag.
Following the race, Brad Binder said “We made some big changes for today’s race and everything was a bit easier to handle. It was better. The bike stopped a bit better but we clearly need to find more because the guys in front were in a league of their own.
“We got some valuable information to find a bit more speed and to keep the pace all the way through the race. On the last lap I lost the front down Turn 11 and lost two positions. Not ideal. I know what I am capable of and where we can be. We will keep fighting as hard as we can every session.”
Following the race, Jack Miller said: “Not the most ideal day. We managed to solve the front-end issues I had yesterday but we suffered from the get-go with the rear tyre and couldn’t get it to hook up in a few corners.
“No matter what I did I couldn’t really get it to go through the first sector nicely. The others had just a bit more speed and a bit more lean angle. We got what we could out of it. We’ll keep plugging away. Saturday was a good day, today so-so. I’m happy to have the front feeling back with the bike. We are work in progress and we have 11 races to go.”
MotoGP will pause for a three weekend break and then return with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone during the first weekend of August, where KTM will commemorate the championship’s 75th anniversary with a special vintage livery.