KTM’s Brad Binder reveals what went wrong in terrible start to Aragon sprint

Brad Binder overcame a shocking start to finish respectably in the sprint race at Aragon, although hopes of a podium quickly vanished.

Binder had qualified in seventh and believed he possessed the pace for the podium but was fighting an uphill battle within seconds.

“I really started on the back foot,” the KTM rider explained.

“As soon as I launched, I started spinning. It spun the whole way until Turn 1.

“I arrived at Turn 1 so slowly that I didn’t have enough speed to brake hard enough to unclip my devices, lift the rear, or unclip the front.

“So I stayed stuck down for most of the first lap! It was really not good.

“I lost so many positions on the start. After that, I tried to find my bearings and go forwards.

“I made a few mistakes. In general, a bad start with a big spin put us on the back foot and I tried too hard to play catch-up.

“Hopefully [Sunday] we can get off the line clean.”

Binder ultimately finished the sprint race in P6.

Teammate Jack Miller reacted to finishing 13th: “A strange feeling on the track, it was almost like riding in the wet. You cannot do any sporadic movements.”

Oliveira 'felt slow'

Trackouse rider Miguel Oliveira qualified eighth and finished the sprint in fifth. He said: “We have to obviously look at the positives. We gained three positions, we finished in the points.

“On the other hand, I felt quite slow with the bike, and not competitive enough.

Difficult to stop, difficult to manage the rear tyre degradation, hard to manage the front tyre.

“It’s going to be tougher [Sunday], I am predicting. The team is working to understand how to get the most out of the package.

“There is a chance to get points, so we are totally focused on that.

“The speed seems to be there but the track is tricky for us.”

Bastianini: 'Dramatic' qualifying

Ducati’s Enea Bastianini struggled to 14th in qualifying but finished seventh in the sprint.

He reacted: “The feeling in qualifying was dramatic for me.

“I tried many solutions, I changed the start, but nothing changed. I tried to do the maximum.

“It was impossible to go directly to Q2. I started the sprint in 14th.

The track improved a bit during the sprint. I was comfortable, it was much easier to ride.

“Seventh position is good, I can be happy.”