Brad Binder and KTM finish day four of MotoGP testing P16 in Qatar, but South African ✨says 'we made a step for♈ward today' ahead of the final day.

KTM hav♕e had a tough pre-season test so far, with both factory riders and the KTM Tech 3 pair all struggling to finish in the top ten. 

However, for Binder it was a better day even though the lap times remain relatively far from Maverick Vinales and the Yamaha's. The former Moto3 champion suffered two crashes on day three, but af💟ter today said: "It w♚as good to get through a day without falling off!

"That was my goal this morning. I had a really, really tough time yesterday. Today was good: I found a bit more speed and built up mꦛy confidence on the bike again.

"I’m really happy with෴ the progress made and we have some good things in min🐭d for tomorrow."

The biggest struggle for KTM so far a🍌round the Losail International Circuit has been the first sector. This is where most of the time deficit is coming. 

The Austrian team made th🐠e biggest improvements of any team in 2020, and according to Binder, it sounds like a track characteristic issue rather than the bike having taken a step back. 

"I think it comes down to the fact that Qatar is not the best suited to our bike. The style here is light on the brakes, let﷽ go and keep speed and flow," said Binder.

"The one thing that our KTM is really good at is turning with the front brake in the ꩲhand and the bike stops like hell. Whereas here, t♐here are maybe not opportunities that are to our advantage.

"The track is not ideal for us but we have some ide✅as to try and I’꧋m confident we’ll up our game."

With one day left of testing before the opening ro💎und on March 28, tyre 🍒choices are becoming ever more critical. 

Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco has already stated his intent to run a soft on the front and rear, as the medium 🐻is too dangerous when the night conditions come into play.

And it sounds like Binder is in the same boat, saying: "We were doing a bit of work on the Medium these last few days but it seems when the sun goe𒁏s down here it becomes a bit danger🌠ous on the front.

"A lot of people have been crashing once the sun setsꦍ with the Medium. I felt better with the Soft in tonight. I did a race distance with one without problems.

"This is a bit of a special track and special conditions. When the sun goes down it gets a bit tricky for everybody. It is Qatar’s trait. It’s🌸 sketchy when it gets humidity in the air but we all need to deal with it and be careful."