Brad keeps focus to take eighth place in #GermanGP Sprint Race
MotoGP moved from the flat, fast kinks of the TT Circuit Assen into the hilly relentless curves of the Sachsenring where premier class riders barely use full throttle of their fierce race machinery. The 3.6km course involves part of the historic trajectory but is otherwise a curio venue on the Grand Prix calendar with just three right hand corners compared to ten to the left and a low average speed. Hosting the German stop on the MotoGP slate since the end of the century, Sachsenring has also been a popular draw with vast 200k+ crowds gracing most editions of the event.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing came to the region almost 300km south of Berlin and west of Chemnitz to negotiate changeable weather conditions and temperatures through the two days of practice, qualification and Sprint competition. Brad Binder had recorded the 10th fastest lap on Friday to go into Q2. The wind and clouds of Friday had been replaced by hotter and brighter weather on Saturday when Brad hovered in the lower top ten in Q2 before making sure of 11th on the grid.
The Sachsenring Sprint meant 15 laps run in cagey close quarters and overtaking tricky to manage. Brad fought in a mini group of three riders for P8 and two championship points.
A longer and more strategic race distance lies ahead at 14.00 CEST tomorrow with preservation of the left side of the race tires among the priorities for the 30 laps.
Brad Binder
11th in qualification, 8th in the Sprint“We made some changes before the race to find a bit more feeling with the front end of the bike and some turning and they seemed to work quite well even though we had to look after the front tire. On braking and entry they worked pretty good. We made a small step there and hopefully tomorrow we can make another one. I could be consistent today but tomorrow is a long race and we need to focus. I’m confident we can do a better job.”