Brad Binder savours weekend on podium

For much of his racing career, Brad Binder has had a reputation as a Sunday man. Fair to middling in qualifying on Saturday, but ruthlessly outstanding on race day. It’s a mantle he admits and is desperate to shake, and he did so with some vigour this weekend at the Spanish MotoGP.

Binder stood on the podium on Saturday and Sunday in Jerez, as winner of the Tissot Sprint race on the first day of the weekend and second in the GP proper on Sunday. He looked to be on for a double shot of victories on the weekend, but after leading the race from the start, the Red Bull KTM rider got a little squirrelly with a few laps to go and Italian world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) pounced to take a win after a storming ride.

“Today was fantastic to finish a main race again — the last two I messed up,” said Binder, who had finished at the back of the field in the US and Argentina GPs.

“So happy to have gotten a solid podium today, it was nice to be out front leading the race. I kept seeing that I had a little gap, so I thought I had done the job and had to look after my rear tyre, but I think I cooked it a bit with three-four laps to go. It is what it is, but I managed my best lap of the race right at the end trying to get Pecco. Hats off to him. Thanks to my team and to everyone for their support.”

Binder had to contend with two red flags and restarts on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, he pulled off an audacious move to overtake his KTM teammate, Australian Jack Miller, in the Tissot Sprint. Bagnaia was second that day with Miller third.

On Sunday, Miller, second on the grid, and Binder, fourth, took the early lead with the Australian leading Binder through the first corner. In the second corner, Fabio Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira and Marco Bezzecchi, the world championship leader, crashed heavily with Oliveira dislocating his shoulder, forcing the race to be red flagged.

It was second time lucky for Binder, who got the holeshot on Miller, overtaking him on the outside. Binder, Miller, Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Aleix Espargaro made up the front of the race, with Miller moving to the lead for a spell before Binder came back hard and started to move clear, putting six tenths of a second into Miller.

Bagnaia was on the charge and, after contact with Miller during an overtaking move and being forced to give the position back, got past the Australian again and, with four laps to go, slipped past Binder, who had a little wobble into the final corner as his tyres wore.

Binder was not done and came back hard on Bagnaia, braking deeper and deeper into corners, finding extra speed and putting in his fastest lap of the race.

“At first it seemed like a no, but the number 33 dragged the speed from somewhere. He closed back in, and by the final lap it looked plausible if not likely that Binder would get close enough,” reported MotoGP.

“By the final sector it looked like one motorcycle in the lead, and the last Lorenzo corner was coming. The stage was set for a lunge, but Bagnaia was having none of it. The reigning champion was incredibly strong on the brakes and shut the door to perfection, leaving Binder to have a brief look but find no way through. Split by just two tenths over the line, it was fitting it went to the wire after a stunning race.”

Binder now sits third in the world championship standings with 62 points, with Bagnaia leading on 87 points and Marco Bezzecchi third on 65.