Brad Binder raring to go after difficult off-season

Brad Binder has opened up about the challenging off-season ahead of his second MotoGP campaign with Red Bull KTM.

The South African rider appreciated the time afforded to him to spend with family back home but is ready to get back into action.

Binder will line up for the Qatar MotoGP at the Losail International Circuit this weekend, and expectations are high.

Binder ready to race

The pre-season hasn’t gone to plan for anyone in MotoGP with initial testing cancelled before the five-day practice session at Losail earlier this month.

“The offseason was cool, it was so nice to come home and catch up with my family and friends, as I didn’t get to spend time in South Africa at all last year,” Binder said. 

“But COVID-19 did put a bit of pressure on my Moto GP as it’s a lot more difficult, especially just to live a normal life and try to get to another country, and so far, this year is looking the same.

“Pre-season has been great as far as the training and preparations go, though we were meant to start our first test in Japan at the beginning of February, but that got cancelled and moved to a date that was only a couple of weeks ago in Qatar, so we missed out on a few days of testing there, unfortunately, but yes it has been tough for us, the start has not been ideal or as we expected. We just need to stay focused and it is now the time where we could either work for 1st place or 15th place, but I am confident that we will get it right just in time.”

A new partner

Binder is eager to strike up a working relationship with his new teammate Miguel Oliveira.

“It is really cool to have Miguel as my teammate, he is a really cool guy, we have always got on really well. I think we can really push Red Bull KTM on, I am sure between us we can do a really great job.”

Binder wants more podiums

Having achieved his first MotoGP win last season, Binder has targeted consistently competing for podium places in 2021.

“The goal for me at the moment is that I really want to fight for a podium, every weekend would be fantastic,” Binder added. 

“If we could be racing for that front battle and keep on pushing, it will give us the opportunity to learn much more and push on a little bit from there. I think we have everything we need to really be there. It’s just we need to try to put all the small things together and go from there.”