OBAKENG MELETSE
Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder was a fortunate recipient of points in the world’s oldest republic and he left the San Marino MotoGP with a decent tally.
From lights out, the Imola circuit dished out an action-packed start in the main race, and with rain around, the South African rider was out to add to the three points collected for a seventh-place finish in the sprint race on Saturday.
Busy morning so far for @BradBinder_33 who’s banked 23 laps already.
Only 20 minutes remaining before we have a go at some practice starts and stop for lunch. #KTM #ReadyToRace #MisanoTest pic.twitter.com/Fa2d22gvJn
With dark clouds present and light drizzle after lap seven, “wet-track master” Binder propelled himself briefly to second, behind championship leader Francesco Bagnaia. Even though he couldn’t stick on the rear wheel of the Italian, a strong fourth-place finish – his second in a row and fourth of the year – gave him a handy 16 points from the weekend.
“It was a bit of a stressful situation on the grid with rain dropping,” said Binder afterwards.
“It was a bit sketchy and we weren’t too sure what to do. However, I stuck with my gut feeling and it worked out well. The track was at its worst in the first sector but it quickly dried.
“It was a chaotic race because you were unsure how hard you could push and how much risk to take. I’m happy with fourth and to be in the top five again, and we found a good compromise with the bike.
“I was comfortable. Now we have to work through the items we have in the test and make more progress.”
Locked in an intense battle for fifth position in the riders’ championship, Binder’s young rival Pedro Acosta of KTM’s sister team Tech3 GasGas, went into the weekend with a three-point advantage. Failure to navigate a tight turn 14 by the 20-year-old, however, led to a crash that opened the door for the South African, who swooped in and took with him a nine-point gap heading to the Emilia Romagna MotoGP in a fortnight.