Binder 'didn't accept limitations' of KTM MotoGP bike enough in 2023

Binder scored his best championship result in MotoGP with fourth in 2023, albeit finishing 174 points behind pacesetter Francesco Bagnaia.

And though he did score two sprint wins, a grand prix victory narrowly slipped through his grasp on a couple of occasions.

At one stage of the season declaring the 2023 RC16 the best KTM he’d ridden, Binder ended the year frustrated.

“Not really, to be honest,” he said when asked if he was happy with what he achieved in 2023.

“I expected a lot more this season. I feel like I was capable of a lot more but I made a lot of mistakes and threw away a lot of opportunities.

“But OK, it’s life, it can happen. With this new format everyone has made a ton of mistakes it seems. But I’m really looking forward to getting started again next season.

“We have these two months or whatever it is to really build, understand and grow from now, try and find tiny improvements in every area.

“And I think, if we can do that, we can come back next season with everything we need to fight for some wins.”

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Binder was on course to win the Valencia GP finale before he ran off track while leading, which dropped him to fourth – though he was promoted to third post-race due to a penalty for Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Two podiums at Assen got away from him due to track-limits penalties, while in the German GP he was running third before crashing out.

Asked by Autosport if he felt his errors were down to him pushing harder because more was on offer with this KTM, he replied: “Not really. I mean, to be honest, when you are giving your absolute best, whether you are fighting for first or fighting for 10th, you can make mistakes.

“This year, sometimes instead of accepting some limitations I always tried to push a little bit too far and landed on my head.

“So, that’s wasn’t ideal. But like I said, I think we can learn a lot from this season.

“I must say my team and KTM made an incredible step from last year.

“For sure we need to make another step just to stay in the game because everything keeps growing. But it’s exciting.

“One of the joys of life is always trying to improve. I know I can step it up on my side, so if they can do the same I can be in a better situation next year.”