Binder: It's chaos! Great time to be a MotoGP rider, fan

The last time that happened was in 1952.

The unpredictability continues in terms of machinery, with European brands Ducati, KTM and Aprilia sharing the race wins (again, the first time since 1952) and all six factories present on the podium.

"It's chaos!" smiled Brad Binder, runner-up in Qatar before KTM team-mate Miguel Oliveira took victory in Mandalika.

"It's going to be an extremely exciting year.

"It's a great time to be a MotoGP rider, but also a great time to be a spectator -probably better as a spectator!"

Binder arrives at round four in Austin this weekend holding second in the world championship standings, seven points from Termas winner Aleix Espargaro. KTM sits second in both the constructors' and teams' standings.

"It's good times for us. We need to enjoy the good days but keep our feet on the ground because there's always tough days to come," Binder said. "There's been three podiums of different riders and I expect there's going to be a lot of changes like that throughout the season.

"But it's great to be second in the world championship. We just need to keep bringing home the maximum points on offer to us, whether that is a win or a fifth or a tenth and at the end of the year I hope we'll be in a good spot."

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'We'll be better in Europe'

Binder has done a good job of maximising each race to date, overcoming a malfunctioning ride-height device for eighth in Mandalika, then fighting from eleventh (after a gear-shift mishap in qualifying) to sixth in Argentina.

"We've had a couple of difficult weekends and we're still doing quite good," he said.

"I actually thought I was capable of fighting for the podium [in Termas] but it wasn't to be so let's just stay focussed and keep working to improve for America.

"Then I think we'll be better in Europe, when we get to tracks with a higher grip level because the bike works much better when we have traction rather than when it's slippery.

"It seems what we have found [with the bike set-up] is really positive but also when the track conditions are a bit difficult it's not so easy for us because we rely a lot on the rear traction."

Oliveira, who fell in Qatar and was 13th in Argentina, arrives in Austin holding seventh in the world championship.