“Brad Binder has been a really bad rain runner so far” – Pit Beirer

The Mandalika race will certainly not be forgotten for KTM which saw Miguel Oliveira triumph and apply winning pace. However, the Austrian manufacturer only had Oliveira to fight for the podium as Brad Binder finished in eighth place.

In an interview with Speedweek, Pit Beirer – director of KTM Motorsport – spoke about the performance of the South African and began by clarifying that it was his racing that was influenced by a problem in the height regulation device. However, it is the No.33’s best result after its victory in the second race at Spielberg last year, when Binder finished the race on slicks while the surface was wet.

“We already saw during the race that Brad’s performance was impaired by the faulty ride height device. We’re glad he stayed [on the bike] and eventually collected some important places against many rivals who had all passed him. With the exception of the few slippery wet laps of the Austrian GP at Spielberg 2021, Brad has been a very poor rain rider so far. That’s why we sent him on the MotoGP bike a lot during winter testing. We let it roll every turn wet, ‘ he stated.

Beirer continues and argues that this is a great result for #33:

– Eighth place in Lombok was a great result for Brad in the rain. Because in the past, he has not scored any points in MotoGP races in the rain with the exception of Spielberg last year. This should not be forgotten.