The final 2024 fixture of MotoGP circulated the cool climes of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the second time this season as the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona replaced the cancelled Valencian round and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing sped into action for the last time this year. Brad Binder steered the KTM RC16 to a decent comeback with 9th while Jack Miller rode to 19th.
Catalan sunshine helped raise late autumn temperatures at the Barcelona race circuit. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing confronted the Solidarity GP of Barcelona knowing that tire choice and managing tire wear would be key to peak performance for the 12-lap Sprint. On Friday Brad Binder and Jack Miller ranked 11th and 12th after Practice, both missing out on Q2 by two hundredths of a second. Jack was 0.001 of a second behind Brad!
Saturday’s qualifying dash was an exercise in the search for grip. The teammates remained locked together as Binder was 18th on the grid and Miller 19th. The Sprint saw Brad make the brighter start from the sixth row and was in contention for the top ten by mid-race distance. He moved through to 9th in the closing stages and amidst a chaotic scrap in the third group. Miller was also making ground but then struggled with usable traction and rode home in 19th.
MotoGP gets fast for 24-laps from 14.00 CET on Sunday.
Brad Binder, 18th in qualification, 9th in the Sprint: “A day of two halves. Qualifying was tough and I just couldn’t get a lap together. I got a decent start today and pushed up to 9th which was OK but I wanted a lot more here at the last GP. It was difficult to manage the front and I knew it would be tough from 18th but my KTM is a rocket off the line and my team did a great job to get us in the best position possible.”
Jack Miller, 19th in qualification, 19th in the Sprint: “Difficult race. I was spinning everywhere with the medium option. Not ideal and I battled until the end with whoever I could but my pace was off. My front end felt good but I couldn’t get anything from the rear. We’ll analyze it tonight and try to understand for more tomorrow.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We got stuck in Q1 for the last Saturday of the season and we paid the bill for missing out on Friday by fractions of a second. Starting from those positions was not so easy to make the points but Brad did it. He had good pace and it could have been even better if he’d started further forward. Let’s see for tomorrow. The longer race might bring some more rewards and positions. Jack had an issue from the beginning and could not go forward. It was difficult for him to find the front feeling and he just focused on bringing the bike home.”
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