The weekend’s chaotic Catalan MotoGP was such a wild ride for Brad Binder that the Red Bull KTM man can be forgiven for thinking he was on a roller-coaster rather than a RC16.
History will show that Binder finished the main race in seventh place behind winner Fabio Di Giannantonio on Sunday. But won’t do the drama it took in getting there any justice.
Binder was the third fastest during practice around Catalunya on Friday and qualified in eighth on Saturday, his best of the season. But he slid out of the sprint race on the first corner after contact with Di Giannantonio deemed to be a “racing incident”.
Bad luck for Brad Binder
On Sunday, the KTM man had to start from the pit lane on his spare bike after experiencing a problem on the warm-up lap. Trailing the field by miles, Binder was handed a reprieve as the race got red-flagged after a horrific crash which left Alex Marquez with a fractured neck and collarbone. Marquez rode into the back of race leader’s Pedro Acosta’s bike after the RC16’s engine cut out and careened off the track.
Having to start from the position he was in before the red flag, Binder darted from 20th on the grid to eighth going into the first corner as the red flag came out again. This time it was Johann Zarco fracturing his leg after crashing into Pecco Bagnaia.
On course to finish 10th after the second restart, Binder benefitted from another extraordinary set of circumstances. Both Ai Ogura, who nudged further-placed Acosta from the track on the final corner, and Joan Mir, bust for a tyre pressure infraction, received time penalties which saw Binder promoted to seventh.
Slipping in the title race
“A weekend where we were unlucky but then also fortunate to have those starts. It’s a pity … also that I qualified 8th and had to start from 20th twice,” Binder told the KTM website.
The win saw Di Giannantonio (116 points) edge closer to Marco Bezzecchi (142) and Jorge Martin (127) in the premier class title race. Despite bagging nine points, Binder (37) drop one place to 14th.
Teenager Ruché Moodley will continue his hunt for his first Moto3 points of the season in Italy in two weeks after finishing the Catalan Grand Prix in 20th place.
