MRW Issue 41

take in everything, like an annoying kid in the
background. A few years later I was working
alongside him with Aki! For me it was super-nice,
and I was still trying to learn as much as I could.
I was like a sponge around him. He always had
the patience to sit with me and answer all my
questions, and at the same time if I could help
him with something – because we were both
trying to develop a bike – then I did because we
had to develop software and I could use my skills
with programs and things. I think we were quite a
competitive team.”
Binder won eight Grands Prix in three years and
was close to the 2019 title. MotoGP then turned
up on the doorstep. After Binder’s rookie season
in 2020, Madrid was again in demand for 2021.
“Mike Leitner [then Red Bull KTM Team Principal]
asked me to go with Brad. Again, I resisted. I said:
‘Mike, there’s no way! It is too much. I’ve never
worked in MotoGP so how can I handle this?!’ It
was another level: two bikes, a much bigger crew,
the tires, brakes and electronics were different.
They needed someone with experience. He told
me a few stories of his own start in the deep
end with another factory and it gave me some
confidence. At least nobody could say I was overconfident!
I was very honest from the beginning,
and Mike still thought I could do it. When
someone has a lot more experience than me then
I really listen to what they have to say. I thought if
‘Mike Leitner is telling me this…then I trust him’.”
“When I arrived in the MotoGP box, I realized the
rest of the guys were a few steps in front of me. I
would ask them if they’d sorted something: ‘done’.
Then if they had checked something else: ‘done’.
It was incredible. The experience was almost
overwhelming, and I knew working like that and
being surrounded by a crew like this made my life
super-easy. They are experts.”