Carrying forward his form at the end of last season where he was a regular podium contender, KTM’s Binder made a strong start to the 2024 campaign.
The South African finished runner-up in both the sprint and the grand prix in Qatar last weekend, and left the Losail event pleased with the step his KTM team had made from Saturday to Sunday.
While he still feels close to being able to win a grand prix again for the first time since 2021, Binder admitted in Qatar that it felt like Ducati’s factory riders had margin to play with in terms of pace when they need to.
“I think same as last year, we’re super close but we haven’t shown we can do it yet,” Binder said.
“For me, I feel like I’m a little bit pushing at one hundred [percent] all the time and I feel like they have a couple of percent in the pocket when they want to use it.
“So, I’m waiting for this last little bit of help and then we’ll try again.”
