Brad Binder reversed his fortunes and was able to leave the dark and cloudy confines of the Motegi circuit in Japan with 6th position for the sixteenth round of the season. The South African started from 5th and banished the memory of his bad luck in the Sprint for a spirited charge. Jack Miller made his own fightback from a qualification slot of 14th to finish 10th.
MotoGP moved Motegi for a high-paced final appointment of the triple header that has taken in trips to Emilia Romagna, Indonesia and Japan in three consecutive weeks. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were fast and lively from the opening sessions at the 4.8km course where changeable weather conditions flirted between wet and dry asphalt for the three days of the Grand Prix program.
Binder started from P5 on the grid, Miller was P14 after their respective efforts and circumstances in Q1 and Q2 on Saturday. A technical issue had interrupted Brad’s attempt for a podium on Saturday while Jack tried some big set-up changes to rise to 8th in the same Sprint.
On Sunday, motivation and determination remained high as the clouds kept dry. Binder burst into the top three but Miller’s start was amazing and he passed nine riders to reach a highpoint of 5th! Brad and Jack then established their pace as the laps counted down and tire life had to be managed. The South African rode a largely lonely race until the final stages when he dropped to 6th. The Australian battled for 10th.
Binder is up to 5th in the world championship standings while Miller is 15th. KTM are ranked 2nd in the Constructors table. A one-week reprieve from racing will then take MotoGP into more back-to-back fixtures with trips to Phillip Island, Buriram and Sepang for Australian, Thai and Malaysian Grands Prix and the final straight of the 2024 campaign.
Brad Binder, 6th: “In the beginning when I wanted to push on with the boys I kept losing the front but after a while everything felt OK for a section of the race. Then with six-seven laps to go the rear tire went and it was spinning all the way down the straight. It was really difficult to keep clean and consistent. In general everything else was quite OK. Not the race I wanted…but it was all we had today.”
Jack Miller, 10th: “We made a bit more headway with the bike and I made the best pace I could. I can generally get away good and hit my marks. I was in the right spot at the right time. It was fun to be there at the beginning. We’re struggling a bit with mid-corner and corner exit speed. The front is stable and it stayed solid all race but we still have some work to do. This hard-braking track was good for us. We’ll come back next week and give it a crack at the Island and see how it goes there.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A good start for our boys. They were both top five and especially Jack made a great effort from the back. They kept their positions. It was a tough race and a long distance. We cannot complain, top ten and close to the top five. It’s what we have from this Grand Prix and now we have to look forwards.”
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