Brad Binder, who finished fourth in the Riders’ Championship, helped KTM secure five podium finishes in the main races last year, which was the team’s best season in MotoGP history.
The manufacturer also finished second in the Constructors’ Championship. However, not since Miguel Oliveira won the 2022 Thai Grand Prix has the Austrian manufacturer triumphed in a race.
KTM’s performance has suffered this year and, after nine rounds, they are currently in third place among the manufacturers, behind Aprilia and Ducati. PecinoGP asked Jack Miller about the fact that the company has fallen behind its competitors. He replied:
“That’s a mirage, because KTM’s last win was in the wet, with Miguel. I think KTM’s last two wins were both in the wet. If you look at the season Brad had last year, I think it was by far the one with the most podiums in the dry and the most competitive of his Grand Prix career.”
The Australian is sure that his performance has improved a lot as a result of the new rear tyre: “The speeds have increased incredibly, the rear tyre has changed.” When we came back in February or March this year, we had improved our time by 1.2 or 1.4 seconds per lap since our November trip to Qatar the previous season.
In just three months, how much have the bikes changed, in your opinion? It’s no secret that the rubber compound of the tyres has changed. When we discuss motorbikes, we usually adjust a few millimetres here and there to get a better feel. However, when you completely change the contact between the bike and the racing surface, you have to balance and understand how much pressure to put on the tyres and the electronics, among other things, and let’s just say that everything changes.
Miller is certain that the KTM RC16 can compete at the highest level if the ideal settings for this year’s tyres are discovered. He says: “This bike is extremely strong, the engine is strong, it does a lot of things very well.” That’s the reason I’ve never given up on the idea that we can be there, competing for wins, this season. To get these tyres, especially the rear one, to cooperate with the other tyres in the combination, you just have to set everything up correctly and know what needs to be done.
