Red Bull KTM, the Bull loses its wings in Thailand

If there is one lesson to be learned from the Thailand Grand Prix, it is undoubtedly that Ducati's dominance is not about to end. The Italians placed four bikes in the first four places, disgusting the competition once again. Behind the Desmosedici are two Aprilias, a Honda and finally a KTM, only 8th.

Brad Binder had a great race starting 14th, but the result of the 5th of the last world championship struggles to mask an anonymous weekend on the part of the Austrian bikes. None of the four riders of the KTM group managed to play interesting places in a weekend crossed in general anonymity. “A really long race, that’s for sure.” assures Binder. “I knew I had to be very gentle with the rear tyre and fluid on the exit of the corners. It was very tricky, especially because you want to get carried away and push harder. I knew I had to be smart today, but I also think I made a little mistake in my tyre choice. Anyway, we did a good job despite a difficult weekend.”

The South African completely eclipsed his teammate Pedro Acosta, who was highly anticipated after his first cannonball year in the premier class of motorcycle speed. The 2 Moto2023 world champion crashed quickly during the Grand Prix, provoking the anger of Pit Beirer, KTM's racing director, who was counting on his rider, then the only representative of the Austrian brand in the top 10. “A difficult day. It’s a shame.” regrets Mazzaron's Shark. “We need to understand better what is happening because I had trouble braking. After the crash trying to brake behind another rider, my pace was not so bad; the team told me it could have been enough for the top five. We need to move on and start all over again in Argentina. That’s all.”

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Viñales and Acosta miss in Thailand

At Tech3, the satellite team of KTM, the new duo Enea Bastianini – Maverick Viñales was highly anticipated, but the two men did not really shine. The Spaniard qualified 18th, the Italian 20th: the weekend could not have started worse. Viñales spent his weekend in the depths of the standings, while Bastianini recovered a little on Sunday by finishing 9th, behind Brad Binder. A nice comeback that saved his weekend. “I didn’t expect a top 10. I think the soft tyre helped me feel more confident. In the second part of the race I rode very cleanly and it went well. It was important to see what I could do against the other riders and understand where I can improve. It was a good race for that.” is satisfied with Pecco Bagnaia's former teammate at Ducati.

“This weekend we had some ups and downs trying to understand my feelings on the bike.” explains Maverick Viñales. “Now we have to be more precise and try to improve, because I had grip problems at the front today. That affected my cornering speed. I managed to make the rear tyre last until the end of the race, but I had to use the front too much, which made the times difficult to maintain.”

Despite a difficult weekend for his troops, Aki Ajo, the KTM manager, wants to wait a few races before deciding on the place of the Austrian RC16s in the hierarchy. The Japanese assures that his bikes are " competitive when it's a little cooler ", but acknowledges that he remains "work to do" in terms of performance, while KTM is now threatened by the strong comeback of Honda and Yamaha.

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