KTM are back on top of the MotoGP timesheets as Brad Binder ends Friday as the fastest rider at Motegi.
Brad Binder ended the opening day at the Japanese Grand Prix on top of the timesheets. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider has struggled in recent races and has not visited the podium since Round One at Qatar.
The South African rider was up the order with the Ducati riders and Pedro Acosta on Friday at Motegi. Binder ended up 0.033 seconds quicker than Marc Marquez after the final timed Practice session.
After the Friday Practice sessions, Binder was asked how he was feeling after the opening day in Japan.
"The last few races have been a bit of a challenge," Binder stated. "We came here with a different idea. I would rather just ride the bike than reinvent the thing.
"Today was pretty good, I can't complain. It was a bit tricky in the PR session in the beginning, I had a small issue, I came in, I went out again and I had no grip so I wasn't sure what was going on. After that, we changed the tyre for the first time attack and my bike was back. Everything was working normally again after that, it was really cool to finish in the top spot again, it has been a while. It looks like our bike is pretty decent here and lets try and take advantage of it."
Binder went on to expand on his 'different idea' that he had before the Japanese Grand Prix.
"In KTM all of us have something quite different to try, we try to split the workload. We went back to something that we knew and tried not to fiddle too much and just ride the bike. It was good, it worked well for us today and we can play a bit more in the future."
Finally, Binder expressed his ambition to fight with the 'top boys' again, but he knows he needs a strong Qualifying session to do so.
"I am going to try for sure," Binder said when asked if he can fight at the front this weekend. "I think everything felt pretty good today, it is important to see what we can do when we have to do 24 laps rather than just one. So, that is what I want to work on tomorrow morning and then our priority is to get a strong Qualifying position under my belt and then try to fight with the top boys again."