02.06.2024

Binder’s push rewarded with top ten in Italian MotoGP™ chase

MotoGP 2024 - Round 07 of 21, Autodromo del Mugello, Italy – Race

Brad Binder KTM MotoGP 2024 Italy Sunday © KTM Images/Polarity Photo

This press release has: 23 Images

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing chased speed and feeling at the Italian Grand Prix and the second weekend of MotoGP in a row. Brad Binder rode to 10th position at a busy and bright Mugello for six points and moves up to 7th in the championship as teammate Jack Miller made it to the finish in 16th place.

Binder tries to make the same emphatic start as the Saturday Sprint but cannot trouble the top five of the running and through the longer 23-lap distance at a warm Mugello
Miller is denied points in a sustained push to rise above his technical issue in Italy and crosses the line in 16th just in front of Pol Espargaro who completes his first wildcard of the year
Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü break into the points for the seventh round of the season

Mugello basked in sunny and warm late Spring weather with only the occasional dark cloud threatening the positive outlook. After the intensity of Saturday qualification and the Sprint, MotoGP formed a grid to tackle 23 laps on Sunday. Brad Binder and Jack Miller slotted into the depths of the pack and with hopes of repeating the same rapid start that Binder accomplished on Saturday when he zoomed from 13th to 4th in the first corners.

The getaways were decent but not as striking as the Sprint and Binder, in particular, began to work and attack from the lower reaches of the top ten. He suffered with front end grip and eventually made sure of 10th. Miller, still coping with the slight effects of a vibration issue that hampered his progress on Saturday, rode to 16th and was a few tenths of a second in front of Pol Espargaro who used the Italian GP as part of a data-gathering exercise and a view towards his testing role.

Binder is 7th in the MotoGP standings and only 16 points from the top five, with Miller in 16th. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing crew rank 7th of 11 crews in pitlane and the company is still the second-best Constructor in the sport, according to the table.

MotoGP will bring a hectic seven-day period of concentration and focus to a close on Monday afternoon. The second one-day official test of the season will now run around Mugello, and is followed by a three-week reprieve before another consecutive tally of dates in the Netherlands and Germany at the end of the month.

Brad Binder, 10th: “For sure we expected more today but the reality is that once we started rolling we just didn’t have the pace to go with the guys in front. I tried my best but when I started to push I kept losing the front and couldn’t hold the line well. It was a tricky race today and we’re lucky we have a test tomorrow because we have a lot of ideas and we’d like to find a direction to work in.”

Jack Miller, 16th: “We battled along, and it was a lot of work for no points but I was really suffering with the front end at the start and it wasn’t until 6-7 laps into the race and the rear dropped that everything was a bit more balanced. I was able to get a decent rhythm at one point and make some passes at the end. It’s no secret that we’ve struggled this weekend and we made a lot of changes and I’m really looking forward to the test tomorrow to try and sort it out.”

Pol Espargaro, 17th: “We were not expecting a lot because we wanted to get some data, finish the race and get some information on the tire degradation. The pace was still decent and I was moving forwards with Jack. The guys [Brad and Jack] will use some of the stuff we’ve tried this weekend and because we ran it today it will make their job faster for tomorrow. I think we did a good job overall. We set some targets both for one-lap pace and the full distance.”

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Brad’s weekend was affected by that touch of the green track limits on Friday. It started from there, and although he made a great start in the Sprint he couldn’t do it today and got stuck around 10th place. Overall, he improved a lot in terms of race speed from last year but the leading group improved even more; the amount of time is crazy. Almost twenty seconds! We have to keep working because we are not shining with Jack like we should. He is struggling with the feeling, and we have to help him get out of this period. I hope we can make some progress in the test tomorrow and then use the three-week break to rest and gather our energy for improvements. It was Pol’s first wild card and he did a great job. We have to thank him and we look forward to his next race.”

Grand Prix of Italy photographs can be found HERE

Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 40:51.385

2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.799

3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.924

5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +7.501

10. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +15.901

16. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +28.417

17. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +28.778

DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3

World Championship standings MotoGP

1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 171 points

2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 153

3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 136

5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 101

7. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 85

16. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 27

17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 13

KTM GP Academy

Red Bull KTM Ajo lodged Jose Antonio Rueda onto the front row of the Moto3 grid for the sixth time this season and with hopes that the Spaniard could grasp a third trophy of the term. The race ran close and tight for the opening phases of 17-lap distance and Rueda was one of the front runners on his KTM RC4. Unfortunately, a crash in Turn 9 for teammate Xabi Zurutuza (who had pegged his personal best qualification so far in his rookie season with 11th place) caused a red flag as the rookie needed medical attention trackside. The youngster was confirmed to have a small fracture of the right scapula and humerus. The restarted chase lasted for 11 laps and with Rueda taking to the new grid in P5. From that position Jose lost traction into the first corner trying to avoid a rival and went into the gravel. Although he was able to rejoin, he classified down in 15th and salvaged one point.

Celestino Vietti carried plenty of attention at his home Grand Prix (his 100th start!) and the Italian again qualified brightly with the Red Bull KTM Ajo machine in Moto2. The race hurried around Mugello for 12 laps (shortened due to the restarted Moto3 race) and Vietti rode well to make sure of 7th; just 2.6 seconds from P1. Deniz Öncü made the Q2 cut on Saturday after quick qualification form and took to the grid in 14th. The Turkish rookie launched into a battle for points and made the finish line in a creditable 13th.

The sixth race of the 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup took place on Sunday morning. Maximo Quiles had claimed the fifth checkered flag of the season on Saturday but the Spaniard was beaten to the flag in another slipstreaming battle that saw the top eight separated by half a second. The winner was Argentine Valentin Perrone. The fourth round (races seven and eight) of the contest will occur at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of June.

Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Italy

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 21:17.796

2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.142

3. Ryusei Yamanaka (JPN) KTM +1.253

9. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +14.099

14. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +22.031

15. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +22.091

18. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +22.259

DNF. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna

DNF. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo

World Championship standings Moto3

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 143 points