White smoke for Binder: another warning sign for KTM engines

In Australia, another of Binder’s engines goes KO during the first practice session. The KTM rider has been running on a limited supply of engines for some time now, as the MotoGP season nears its end...

A KTM engine going up in smoke is never good news, especially when the manufacturer has been dealing with major reliability issues all year... Brad Binder (who is already short on engines) was the focus of attention during the MotoGP first practice session in Australia, right in the middle of the main straight. He barely had time to raise his hand to signal a problem before a huge cloud of white smoke billowed from the rear of his RC16—a very clear, and unfortunately ominous, sign.

Just ten minutes into the session, the South African rider was forced to pull over, though he didn’t leave any fluids on the track, and then continued on his second bike. He went on to finish 13th in Practice and will have to go through Q1. He also risks being comprehensively beaten by teammate Pedro Acosta, having failed to finish ahead of him at any point this year. With his move to Superbike on the horizon, the former KTM standout is truly facing a bitter end to his season.

As Pit Beirer has acknowledged, seven engines have gone KO, affecting all four KTM riders. Binder had already lost three engines for good due to serious technical problems while the season was still far from halfway over. The Austrian manufacturer from Mattighofen has had a spectacularly difficult year: a string of problems, all eventually traced back to the engine, before the defective components that needed replacing as soon as possible were identified. The issue was resolved before Aragon, with the other manufacturers’ approval, following several Grands Prix in which the RC16s had been restricted specifically to reduce the risks.

Remember, each MotoGP rider is allowed a maximum of eight engines for the entire season, so managing with just five for a large part of the championship is no easy feat—especially since the usual “wear and tear” issues that affect any mechanical machine are always a possibility. With all that in mind, it’s easy to see why an engine failure like the one during FP1 at Phillip Island is another major warning sign for KTM. There are still five Grands Prix to go, and the team will need to dig deep to avoid having to use extra engines and start from the pit lane.

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