Brad Binder arrived at the TT Assen Circuit for the Dutch MotoGP knowing that without track limits penalties in 2023 he would have had two podiums in the Netherlands.
However, the 2024 edition didn't go in the same way, and KTM found themselves lacking pace compared to Ducati and Aprilia.
Ducati filled the top four positions in the MotoGP Dutch TT, and would have filled the top five placed without a tyre pressure penalty for Marc Marquez. On Sunday, only Aprilia's Maverick Vinales was able to stay with the leading Desmosedicis, as the KTM riders reverted to the soft-compound rear tyre to find speed.
That was at the cost of longevity, though, and Binder, who finished as the best KTM following a late crash for Tech3's Pedro Acosta, was left ruing the lack of pace in the RC16 that made the soft option necessary for the Austrian brand's riders in order to keep pace with the leaders.
“Quite a hectic race," Binder said in review. "I decided to go with the soft rear tire because I felt there might be more potential to go with the boys in front but the reality was that they could put down a super-fast pace with the medium and we just burnt the tire to go with them.
"It was tricky, for sure. I would have liked to have walked away with a better result but I left nothing on the table. We have some work to do. My feeling is not terrible. I understand the front limit and I didn’t crash at all this weekend. We just need to find more speed.”
Jack Miller's poor 2024 form has cost him his spot at KTM, as the aforementioned Acosta has been promoted to the factory team for 2025, and Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini have been brought in to fill the Tech3 seats. Nonetheless, Miller is persevering with his final year in orange, and Assen showed signs of progress, he felt.
“Better," Miller said. "We made an improvement last night and was able to run a bit better pace and I had a nice fight and could gain confidence. The change we made gave me more feeling with the front end of the bike and I was happy with that. It’s a base level we can restart with, and fingers crossed we can still look to make some improvements.”
