Brad Binder scored two second places in the 2023 Austrian MotoGP weekend across bot🃏h the Sprint and main race, and so expect꧂ations were high for KTM’s home race in 2024.

KTM also arrived to the Reꦦd Bull Ring this year having tested with both Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro at the Spielberg cir⛄cuit during the summer break.

However, the RC16 ultimately proved incapable of matching the Ducati Demsosedici over the course of a race, even the 2023 version of🌼 the Bologna bike in the case of Marc Marquez, who finished fourth after dropping to 14th at the start.

“I think in general they have to be disappointed,” Alex Lowes told TNT Sports. “ It’s their home, it’s their track, they’ve done a lot of tes🍒ting here, [but] Ducati were a clear, big step in 🦩front.”

TNT pundit𒆙 and ex-MotoGP racer Michael Laverty felt that the performance of the Desmosedici was also having a mental i💝mpact on Binder, who ended up as the leading KTM on Sunday despite starting 12th.

“[Binder😼’s] a racer, and it is a little disheartening for everyone when they look at the strength of the Ducati GP24,” Laver♏ty said. 

“One thing we know about KTM, they’re winners, and they don’t look at ♍that as a negative, they look at that gap and they’re just setting their sights on how to reduce that margin, how to be ready in 2025. 

"Whether it’s aerodynamics, engine development, ඣthey’ll be just addressing every single component.”

For Laverty, it’s a case of time for KTM to find the improvements needed t🐽o challenge﷽ Ducati.

“Ducati haven’t got much margin to improve,” he said. “They always find something, obviously, but KTM have the budget, they’ve g🉐ot the knowhow, it just takes time.

“They’re still relatively new, still not 10-ඣyears-old as a MotoGP﷽ factory in this championship, so they’re still improving all the time.

“This i🏅s Ducati’s [22nd] season in this championship, and they had a big lull before they came [to the position th♔ey’re in now], so they deserve their time in the sun right now.”