Brad Binder wants KTM to ‘take advantage’ after he finished the second MotoGP practice session in first place at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The South African was the surprise package of the afternoon by posting the fastest lap time of 1.43.436s, with Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez and championship leader Jorge Martin behind.
Binder admitted that the start of the session wasn’t plain sailing, but once all issues were fixed, the KTM showed its competitiveness.
“The last few races have been a bit of a challenge for sure,” Binder said to MotoGP.com. “So we came here with a little bit of a different idea. I’d rather just try and ride the bike, not try and reinvent the thing.
“Today was pretty good. I can’t complain. At the beginning of the practice session we had a small issue… Then we changed the tyre for the first time attack and my bike was back!
“It was really cool to finish on top again in a practice session. It’s been a while! It looks like our bike’s pretty decent here and let’s try to take advantage of it.”
Brad Binder: KTM could fight for victory
With Binder topping the charts in practice, KTM appears strong heading into qualifying for both races.
The South African’s nearest challenger on the same machinery was rookie Pedro Acosta, who finished in fourth.
Both riders will form the factory KTM rider line-up in 2025, and the duo are currently battling it out for fifth place in the championship.
Jack Miller narrowly missed out on a Q2 spot in the dying embers of the practice session, finishing one place shy of an automatic spot.
“Everything felt pretty good today [but] it’s important to see what we can do when we have to do 24 laps and not just one flyer,” Binder explained.
“So that’s what I want to work on tomorrow morning. And then my priority is to get a strong qualifying under my belt and try to fight with the top boys again.
“I tried not to fiddle too much, just ride the bike. So that worked well for us today. And yeah, we can play a bit more in the future.”
READ MORE: Brad Binder reigns supreme in Motegi MotoGP second practice
