Binder explains KTM’s rapid pace in Catalan GP practice

Brad Binder has revealed the biggest change he has noticed on his KTM MotoGP bike after leading a 1-2 for the Austrian marque in practice for the Catalan Grand Prix.

KTM enjoyed a strong start to the weekend in Barcelona, with Pedro Acosta setting the pace in the opening session and team-mate Binder leading the way in the hour-long Practice.

Binder’s best time of 1m38.141s put him 0.0139s clear of the best non-KTM of Gresini’s Alex Marquez, while championship leader Marc Marquez finished a further tenth adrift in fourth place.

KTM has been on an upward trajectory ever since it introduced a sizable aero upgrade to the RC16 at its home race in Spielberg, with Acosta finishing second to the older Marquez in the Hungarian GP last time out.

However, Friday at Barcelona arguably marked its most competitive showing of the season, with Tech3’s Bastianini completing the efforts of the factory riders in sixth despite suffering a crash towards the end of the session.

While the low-grip Barcelona track has always been a happy hunting ground for KTM, Binder insisted that the marque’s speed was also down to the upgrades it had brought last month.

“It’s a combination of things,” he explained. “The bike’s changed. There are a lot of small areas that have changed. 

“One thing is clear: it turns better in faster corners. You can roll a little bit more corner speed and you can get the bike pointed where you need to quicker. It works a little bit differently; you got to figure it out, but I think this track is also good for us.”

He added: “The biggest thing is the front end of my bike was really working well. It’s sticking well to the ground and I felt good on the bike.”

KTM’s crew could be seen celebrating in the garage at the end of practice, as Binder brought the pace-setting RC16 back to the pitlane.

It was a morale-boosting result for the squad after a turbulent period through insolvency over the winter that threatened its future in MotoGP.

“It’s the first time in a long time that two KTMs have been the two fastest,” said Acosta. “On my side of the shop, we’ve been pretty calm, but Brad had been struggling for a while.

“It’s great that the bosses are coming, and seeing three of the four KTMs in the top 10, and the fact that we know why the other one [Maverick Vinales] is a relief.”

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

As Acosta explained, the result was also important for Binder who has been enduring an unusually tough season by his usual MotoGP standards. While Acosta has emerged as the standout in the team’s 2025 line-up, the South African has yet to finish higher than sixth on a Sunday.

“I’m happy, happy to have finally put together one good session,” Binder said. “I felt like everything has been going better, I just haven’t really been able to really show it.

“I felt much better on the bike, especially Saturday morning in Hungary. I felt like we made a really big step and then I just never really got any results. But today I focused on my work, tried to be as consistent as I could, pushed every lap, and when I put in the tyres, I felt ready to push a little bit.”

However, Acosta stressed that it’s important that KTM keeps a lid on its expectations, with the threat of Ducati looming in qualifying on Saturday.

The Spaniard also wants to avoid making mistakes at critical points, having put himself on the back foot by crashing early in Hungary qualifying.

“I was close [to a sprint weekend] in Balaton but I [ruined] all my weekend in qualifying,” he said. “We have to have our feet on the ground. Don’t try to make mistakes, make a proper qualifying and let’s see what we can do. 

“You see that I always make a mess in the beginning. Maybe now is the moment to turn around the strategy.”