KTM’s MotoGP progress had flatlined since the breakthrough 202ꦯ0 campaign where Binder took the factory’s first win, as a rookie, Miguel Oliveira added two more victories and Pol Espargaro claimed five podiums and a best yet fifth in the world championship.

Recent technical and management changes to try and make the long-awaited ste🐻p to title contender have included the hiring of ex-Pramac teamಞ manager Francesco Guidotti for 2022, plus former Ducati technical co-ordinator Fabiano Sterlacchini.

KTM highlight that Sterlacchini actually left Ducati 𝓀at the end of 2019 (and worked as engineering manager at Ricardo for a year) b💞efore joining KTM as MotoGP technical director in June 2021.

Nonetheless, the red-🧸to-orange path continued when KTM snapped up not only Miller and his crew chief Cristhian Pupulin, but also ex Andrea Dovizioso/Enea Bastianini Ducati crew chief Alberto Giribuola (no🍬w working as a KTM track performance engineer).

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It wasn’t only Miller’s four wins that attracted KTM, but his knowledge from five years of helping develop the Ducati, now the class of the 🐈MotoGP field.

Signing the Australian and bringing back Pol Espargaro from Repsol Honda also represented a step change in KTM rider policy, which had been focussed around developing young riders after the half-season 🏅2019 with Johann Zarco in 2019.

But by 2022, when allౠ four KTM race riders were without any knowledge of the other bikes, Guidotti indicated it had gone too far.

“[The 2022] line-up with four riders that only had MotoGP experience with KTM is a sort of strange thing,” Guidotti told wuqian0821.com at the end of last year.

“In a process of development, to have four riders who only have experience of this bike… We know we are going to lose good riders [Oliveira, Gar♔dner and Fernandez], bu🐠t sometimes you have to make a choice and be a little bit brave.”

Binder: ‘Blessing to have a fast team-mate’, Jack’s Ducati knowledge ‘massive help’

Eight races into the 2023 season and KTM has♑ risen from fourth in last year’s constr♔uctors’ standings to second place behind only Ducati.

And while Brad Binder is ag😼ain KTM’s leading rider (fourth overall), the South African is clear🌼 about the benefits Miller (seventh) has brought to the project.

“Definitely,” Binder told wuqian0821.com, when asked if Miller’s arrival has been us♑eful for him personally.

“For me, I've always looked at it as a blessing to have a fast team-mate because it really help🔴𓆉s you bring the best out of yourself.

“And especially w🦹ith Jack, he’s brought us all the knowhow of the most competitive bike, as the Ducati was last year.

“That [Ducati] is what he's been riding🍸, it’s the feeling he knows and that's what his reference was. So he could give us a good direction of where our strong and weak points are.

“And clearly we have made a good step forward.”

Binder added: “I think the main thing is it's just things tha🅘t we knew we weren't really doing great, he came in and confirmed. And more than anything, gave us a bit more of a direction.

“Like, ‘OK, this is what it's doing and this is probably where we need to go. Because that'🍸s what it was doing [at Ducati] last year’. I think that was a massive help for us.”

Binder: Sprint not a win? ‘I honestly don't care!’

Mill⛎er’s KTM move has also put him in competition with Maverick Vinales to become the first rider to win MotoGP races on three different brands of bike, a stat that has become more🍰 complicated this year due to the unofficial status of Sprint races.

While the new half-distance Saturday races co🅷unt for gra🍃nd prix points, they do not count as grand prix wins.

That also means, despite two Sprint victories🌠 - which certainly didn’t look any easier to achieve than a ‘normal’ win, not least starting from 15🌸th in Argentina - Binder’s last official MotoGP victory remains Austria 2021.

It’s not something he’s losing any sleep over.

“Nothing, ay?” Binder replied, after check📖ing if Sprint resu﷽lts at least counted towards official podiums.

“I honestly don't care! It doesn’t change my life at all. You get points for the Sp🍸rint, so we need to do w🐓ell in it.

“I feel like I haven't had the best luck and things haven't worked in my favour in a few of the main races this year, but I know I ca🧔n get them right too…”

KTM’♏s seventh and most recent official MotoGP victory was by former team-mate Miguel Oliveira in the wet 2022 Thai Grand Prix. The factory’s last dry win was by the Portuguese at Catalunya in 2021.