Brad Binder returned to the top ten with an eighth-place finish at Silverstone but admitted he may have been “a bit too kind” in preserving his rear tyre during the race, which ultimately limited his progress.
The Red Bull KTM rider, who is widely expected to join BMW in WorldSBK next season, finished 16 seconds behind team-mate Pedro Acosta. “In the race I knew I had to try and be clever and not burn my rear tyre,” Binder explained. “So I really was kind to it—maybe a bit too kind, because I felt a little bit too much grip still at the end.”
Binder noted that his bike setup had improved, helping him feel more comfortable and allowing him to push harder: “I feel like I can push it a little bit more and it’s working in a way I prefer.”
He also addressed the issue of rear “floating,” describing it as a lack of grip that prevents the bike from cutting tight lines and driving out of corners effectively. “You end up just floating. And you don’t ever cut tight lines and drive out well. So that’s been a bit tricky to figure out. But I think we made a really big step with the bike as far as setup goes, and it’s a direction that I can use the bike in.”
Binder now sits 13th in the World Championship, just four points behind Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini. With progress in setup and a renewed sense of comfort, Binder is hopeful about building on this momentum at the next round in Aragon.
