“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 ten, and the fact that we know why the other one [Maverick Vinales] is a relief.”
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.
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“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.”
Read Also:
Fabio Quartararo to debut Yamaha’s V4 engine in Barcelona test
Francesco Bagnaia baffled by nightmare Catalan GP practice: “I cannot be there”
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
