Agreed. I was thinking today actually about how, just like in life, some riders gravitate towards being "popular" for no reason at all. Jack and Mav are two examples of this. The media thinks the sun shines out of their arse but both have been average riders at best in GP. Then the likes of Binder seem to fly under the radar.
I am so tired of hearing that somehow Jack showing up at ktm as helped Binder in some way. Like he has given ktm ducatis secrets and that he is helping with Binders set up. Jack is a racer not a ....... engineer plus it would take time for Jack Oppenheimer to make developmental changes even if he was an engineer. How the hell is Jack giving Brad set up tips on a bike he has never ridden? What the ....? The fact is Brad has been getting better each year. He got his first win years before Jack and will get his last long after Jack is gone.
Not to mention KTM has been stealing Ducati engineers for years but the Anglo media make it look like it's all thanks to Miller's input. They love some self-fellatio.
Substantially true, Jack is a waste of a good factory seat on current form, and his strong one lap pace is irrelevant if he can't make the tyres last more than a few laps.
The development of the bike took a significant step forward with Miller, however the KTM is still noticeably well behind in rideability in comparison to the Ducati, only Binder can consistently ride it, he reminds me of Stoner in 2007. Binder has the chance to be world champion, just needs a bit more development improving the consistency of that KTM.
How has Jack helped? Show me an article saying so. I don't believe this at all. I don't think the ktm is any better than it was last year. The ducatis biggest strength over the other bikes is acceleration grip out of corners. Which is what Binder claimed he had none of compared to the duc this weekend.
I don't dislike Miller he is a stand up guy. I have said in the past he is the ultimate teammate. More of a wingman than your competitor. As much as thats a compliment its not a good trait in a sport where your teammate is the person you must beat.
Mostly agree, but being on the second best bike does not necessarily allow many podiums if there are 8 guys on the best bike. I tend to think MM and maybe FQ could get better results on the KTM though.
As I said, we mostly agree as is not unusual. Jack is not and has never been championship material unfortunately, and with the welath of talent Red Bull has in the pipeline let alone the talent on substandard bikes from other manufacturers it is hard to justify him being on that bike. I tend to agree with others that the KTM is a strange bike, no one other than Binder is really prospering, and the satellite KTM has been a career killer for well performed moto 2 riders. The Aprilia may be more genrally rideable, again as others are saying. It would be interesting to see MM or FQ on either the KTM or the Aprilia..
I think once ducati's dominance comes to an end we could see the ktm dominating. Not because of a superior bike but because of superior riders. My opinion and hope is that we see a battle between Binder and Acosta. Binder and his wild Stoner type style against Acosta's JLo smooth approach. I could be completely wrong but this is what I predict. As terrible as motogp is right now we could be on the horizon of something special.
It won't be a long time. When the ratings start to fall dorna will make changes that will hurt ducati. Changing the tire make up is all it takes to upset a bike and benefit a different one. Ride height and aero is all it would take to make the ducati unstable again.
I think rules were made to favor ducati while they were struggling which creates the ebb and flow of the sport. I am ok with that. It is prototype racing and the manufactures job is to deal with the cards they are dealt. A few years back there was a lot of talk that ducati and ktm needed a hard carcass tire to handle the load on the front. So the next season the tire carcass was harder benefitting Ktm, Ducati, and it appears also Aprilia. To me that was the beginning of the decline of both Yamaha and Honda more than anything else. So a simple change to that could possibly even things out. I absolutely hate the tire rule and wish they all could be given a tire that suits their bike.
I hold in high regard because of his junior category record, the fact that he just gets on with it and that he has dominated every team mate he's ever had. Oliveira showed that the KTM is peaky, and Binder has managed those peaks a lot better.
The only way I think Jack has helped is his qualifying speed has pushed Binder to improve his Q pace.
I agree, the Aprilia is the 2nd best bike out there but flattered by peaky as best, and plain overrated riders at worst. You can't win one race then be struggling to be in the top 10 for the next like Aleix. I think Miguel would thrive on the factory Aprilia but its hard to tell with the awful season he's had through no fault of his own...
