Brad Binder's supporter's page: Facebook
South Africa’s Brad Binder rode the race of the season on Sunday in winning the Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring in an act of bravery which epitomises the very soul of motorcycling’s premier class.
On his now famous number 33 Red Bull KTM, Binder confounded the critics and opted to stay out on slick tyres as the rain came down in the closing laps while his contemporaries and most skilled bike riders on the planet dived into the pits and the sanctuary of all-weather tyres.
As dangerous as Brad’s decision was to stay out on his dry tyres in the wet, it proved an absolute master-stroke as he was able to keep the rubber the right side down and cross the line for only his second win ever in MotoGP.
Win number two was coming though, but possibly not quite the way he had planned it, as on the same circuit the weekend previously, he’d roared through the field from 16th on the grid to finish in 4th place, and at that stage, his best finish of the season.
Sunday’s triumph will probably go down in folklore as one of the most thrilling wins ever in MotoGP, with social media understandably lighting up in admiration at both Brad’s courage to stay out on slicks, but also at the raw talent he displayed in keeping his Red Bull KTM upright.
“I just felt that on Red Bull’s home track I had to take the gamble for the team, so to pull it off is just insane,” said a beaming Binder afterwards.
The Italian Francesco Bagnaia was nearly 10 seconds adrift in second on his Ducati with Ducati-Pramac’s Jorge Martin rounding out the podium in third.
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo had to settle for 7th on his Yamaha but still increased his lead in the world championship from 40 point to 47 points over Bagnaia.
Binder moves up to 6th in the overall standings.
The next round of the MotoGP season is at Silverstone on the 29th of August.
