The upgraded Ducati GP24 appeared to be head-and-shoulders clear of the competition in pre-season testing last month, as reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia set record-breaking pace at both Sepang and Losail circuits.
While there was no stopping Ducati in the opening grand prix of the season either as Bagnaia stormed to victory from fifth on the grid, Binder’s second-place finish gave some hope that the Italian marque won’t have it so easy in the 2024 MotoGP season.
Aprilia also looked rapid at various stages of the Qatar weekend, with Aleix Espargaro in particular showing the speed of the RS-GP with third in the sprint, before tyre issues wrecked his chances of repeating that result in the main race.
Bastianini, who was able to see how different bikes compared to each other at Losail from further down the field in fifth, thinks KTM has managed to close the gap to the front with the revamped version of the RC16 in 2024.
“Ducati now is a reference of all the factories and KTM is really close to Ducati now because we have seen Brad competitive in the grand prix and also the sprint,” said the Italian.
“I think the KTM factory can be close, with Aprilia, as rivals of us for this year.”
Binder was the only non-Ducati rider to break the 1m51s barrier in Q2, as he qualified just over a tenth off polesitter Jorge Martin in fourth place.
He followed that up with a strong run to second in the 11-lap sprint, finishing half a second behind Martin’s GP24.
Binder managed to get the better of the Pramac rider during the full-distance race last Sunday, but could not put up much of a challenge to Bagnaia as the two-time champion took the chequered flag with a lead of 1.3s over the South African.
Asked if he felt KTM is now competing on the same level as Ducati, the 28-year-old was quick to play down the improved form of the Austrian marque, saying both Martin and Bagnaia had more pace in reserve during the Qatar weekend.
“I think [the level is the] same as last year. We are super close,” he said. “But I'm not sure we can do it yet.
“For me I feel like I'm a little bit pushing at a 100 all the time and I feel like they have a couple of percent in the pocket when they want to use it.
“I'm waiting for the last little bit of help and then we try again.”
