RIDEFAST DECEMBER 2021

That means that Binder Junior has to adjust to double the
weight and nearly five times the horsepower.
He did rather well, all things considered. At the end of the
first day, his times had dropped to four seconds off the leader,
and at the end of the second day, this gap was down to
three seconds, 0.6 seconds behind the closest rookie from
Moto2.
Perhaps the second day could have seen an even bigger
improvement were it not for a midday crash that left him in
some discomfort (he spent an hour lying on the floor of the
race truck afterwards waiting for the throbbing to go down).
However, the crash taught him a valuable lesson – those
Michelins need to be kept warm, something he was warned
about but now understands fully. It happened on the out-lap
when the weather was still chilly, and the tyres were not yet
up to full temperature. He then spent a chunk of the first half
of the lap letting riders through, giving the tyres yet more
time to cool down.
Then he went down the back straight and turned into the
following hairpin. He didn’t even turn very quickly or push
very hard, but cold tyres are a cruel mistress – as he tipped
in, while still on the brakes with the throttle closed, the rear
tyre stepped out and high-sided him massively. He may
have befriended the truck floor for an hour, but he also learnt
a valuable lesson in keeping tyres warm.
The first test showed promise, but it is too early to tell how
well he will fare when the season begins next year. For now,
in pre-season, the gap will close rapidly, but as Binder gets
closer to the leaders so every tenth of a second will become
more crucial and more difficult to achieve.
Only then will we see his true potential.
Pecco 2nd Overall
Miller 4th Overall
Brad Binder 6th Overall in MotoGP 2021
Espargaro 4th Overall