The vast orange grandstand on the outskirts of Turn 6 at the Red Bull Ring cranked up the volume for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and for Brad Binder in particular as the South African ran to a top five result at the eleventh round of 2024 MotoGP. #33 shone on home turf but KTM RC16s grabbed points with four motorcycles in the final top fifteen after the 28-lap race.
Three Red Bull KTM RC16s in the top nine after the 14-lap Saturday Sprint gave the factory quiet hopes for more points and possible prizes at their home Grand Prix. Heavy showers and thunderstorms cleared the thick summer air on Saturday evening and the main event got underway dry and warm on Sunday afternoon.
Jack Miller, who’d qualified 5th, made a better job of his start from the second row compared to his launch on Saturday and was quickly into the hunt for the prime space outside the podium spots. Tire conservation was key for the 28-lap distance and this factor influenced the progress of Brad Binder who worked his way from 12th to his teammate’s exhaust trail in the opening exchanges. Pol Espargaro was also keen not to be caught adrift and had plenty of testing mileage at Red Bull Ring to call upon with his latest spec of the race motorcycle.
By the end of the chase it was Brad who prevailed, marking a top five after a typically demanding Grand Prix outing (he is now back to 6th in the championship standings). Espargaro banked reams of data and knowledge in acute race conditions and in his quest for the top ten, eventually finishing 11th while Jack slipped out of the top half of the leaderboard with a small crash into Turn 2a. He was able to remount and made the line in 19th.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will be able to apply their confidence and information gained from a busy Austrian fixture to round twelve in two weeks’ time around the weave of the MotorLand Aragon layout in eastern Spain.
Brad Binder, 5th: “I can’t ask for more from today. I gave my best from beginning to the end and tried to not make mistakes and set my own rhythm without murdering the tire! We managed to get home with it in quite a good state. Top five; I wanted a bit more for the home Grand Prix but we figured some good things out this weekend so let’s keep building from here. I think we’ll be OK in Aragon and I’m hoping for a good result.”
