JOHANNESBURG - The start to the 2021 MotoGP calendar is fast approaching and yesterday morning Red Bull KTM unveiled the livery of their RC16 bikes for the upcoming season.
South Africa's Brad Binder, who was the Rookie of the Year last year, will again ride for the Austria-based team, and will be hoping to improve on his 11th place finish in the world championship and the team's overall fourth-place finish in the constructors’ championship last year.
The 25-year-old Binder also won his first GP in the elite class in 2020 when he stormed to victory at the Czech Republic GP in Brno. Revealing his thoughts via a team statement, Binder expressed belief that this year will be even better for KTM and himself.
Said Binder of the upcoming season: “(Last year) in general was a season where I feel we achieved a lot, a few good results and obviously with the first victory – or KTM's first victory – being the main thing.
“But there were also many days,” he continued, “when we had the potential to do so much more.
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“For sure now the margin is a little bit smaller to try and improve but I think as the season went on last year, even though we had a little bit of a slump in the middle, things got better and better. I felt like I was improving, not only with the results, but in the way I was approaching the weekends and going session by session.
“At the moment, I feel that we have a really, really strong package. We are in a good direction and I am super excited to get back on the bike this year.”
Binder will be joined this year by frienemy and teammate Miguel Oliveria of Portugal, now in his third season in MotoGP and who finished ninth in the championship last year and won two GPs, including his home race – 2020’s season-ending event.
The two riders will form a formidable combination. Since starting his GP motorcyle career in 2011, Oliveria has secured 36 podiums and 14 victories across all three classes, while Binder has won 16 GPs across all classes and stood on the podium 36 times in the same period. Binder is also a former Moto3 world champion.
Barring any Covid-19 setbacks, the MotoGP season will begin early next month with pre-season testing, while the first races of the calendar are the back-to-back GP of Qatar and GP of Doha, both at the Losail International Circuit on March 28 and April 4, respectively.