MotoGP
Being Brad - The Binder Diaries 2019 | Barcelona-Catalunya
Ahead of the Catalan GP, Brad takes some time to reflect on the sponsors that have helped him live the proverbial 'dream' over the years.
Being a Grand Prix rider requires the backing of sponsors, good sponsors who look after you from head to toe and everywhere in between. I have sponsors for my helmet, leathers, boots and other things.
Starting from the top, I’ve got Bell helmets, Ixon leathers, TCX boots, Pole Position Travel, Red Bull, obviously, KTM Ajo and Monteaga Steel, a South African sponsor. They all help live my dream of being at the cutting edge of my sport. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them.
My longest sponsor has been Pole Position Travel. They have been with me for 10 years already, which is crazy. I’ve been very fortunate to have been with Red Bull and KTM for a while now.
With Father’s Day in South Africa on Sunday, it is probably good to remember that my first-ever sponsor was obviously my dad. He was my only sponsor until I started to get faster in GP. My dad funded everything, but when I started in Red Bull Rookie Cup, Pole Position Travel came on board in 2009.
My Ixon leathers are all made to measure. They make them exactly how you want them. If you want the arms bigger, they make them a bit bigger. If you want them a bit tighter around the chest, they do that for you. In a year, I probably go through between 15-20 suits. They are mostly made out of leather, obviously, but it’s got some Kevlar and stretch material in places to give you a bit more flexibility, so you can move around on the bike a bit.
With my helmet, Bell took a scan of my head. I went all the way to their factory in Santa Cruz in the United States to go and get it scanned. They built the inside of the helmet to fit my head exactly. It is very impressive and is definitely the best helmet I have ever worn.
The people at TCX are absolutely amazing. I probably get close to 20 sets of boots a year, but I don’t really use them. Once I’ve broken a pair in, I tend to use them until I’m a good few crashes into them. When they start to look a little bit too scratched, then I swap to a new pair. I’m a big fan of old boots and old gloves. I like to use the comfortable stuff. When they are new, they are not the same. It’s always better when they have been broken in a bit, and TCX make stuff that lasts.
Going into this weekend in Barcelona the team has mixed things up a bit. Last weekend in Italy wasn’t great. I wouldn’t say it was the biggest disaster, I’ve had some bad days, but that one wasn’t far off. I can’t remember the last time I came in 15th position riding as fast I could. It was frustrating and it was a horrible weekend, but those sorts of things are the things you learn the most from. It’s time to act on what we have learnt. Going into this weekend we have changed things up a bit. Nothing too crazy. We have been here at Barcelona testing before, and we didn’t find anything that really worked, so we have come in with a new package and we hope that this package will help us to be much closer to where we need to be.
