Long on course for a podium, Brad Binder has to settle for fourth place in Australia in the end – Why it wasn’t quite enough in the final stages against the Ducatis
Brad Binder held on to second place behind Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati) for most of the MotoGP race in Australia, which was already held on Saturday due to the bad weather forecast. But the KTM rider slipped out of the podium positions in the final phase, just like his rival.
Binder eventually finished fourth, 0.339 seconds behind the third-placed rider, while Martin even dropped to fifth. In the end, Martin’s Pramac teammate Johann Zarco and world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini-Ducati) settled the podium among themselves.
“It was really good until the last three laps,” said Binder, describing his race after starting from second on the grid. “I think we had a really good qualifying, the best qualifying I’ve ever had in MotoGP. “
Binder reacts to Di Giannantonio’s attack
“It was super cool to be on the front row and not have anyone in front of me. I don’t often get the chance to do that. It’s great,” enthused the KTM rider.
“The start of the race was good, I felt great, I really tried to take care of my tires as much as possible,” Binder continues. “When Di Giannantonio passed me I realized I was taking too much care of my rear tire, especially in the last sector.”
“When I followed him and realized how much faster I could really go without using the rear tire too much, I made a good move again. I could see myself getting closer to Jorge again and the tension was rising. I didn’t really think about the fact that I had three guys behind me. “
Zarco’s maneuver costs Binder momentum
“In the hairpin, when Zarco passed me, I had to straighten my bike a bit, just enough for them all to pass,” said Binder, describing Zarco’s attack.
@JohannZarco1 might have just done his teammate a huge favor! AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/fldkQHLBn2
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 21, 2023
“It was pretty hectic and came as a bit of a surprise. I lost a few positions at the end and it was difficult to make them up because guys were spread all over the track. I didn’t manage to overtake any of them before the end. So it was a little bit difficult.”
“But fourth place is fourth place,” summed up the South African. “It’s still good points, still a good result, but I’m a bit sorry for my team because I think we could have achieved more,” admits Binder.
Binder: “Martin has taken the Soft a long way “
Talking about the pace of Martin, who led the race until near the end but then fell back because his tire broke down, Binder says: “I saw that he was on the soft tire, so I knew that it would be almost impossible for me to keep up with him at the beginning.”
“I tried, but he kept his insane rhythm until he stabilized for the first time with maybe ten laps to go. He did a really good job, hats off to him for taking the soft this far. I think we would have had problems with it earlier,” he admits.
Binder – like the majority of the field – had started on the medium rear tire. And even this one “definitely didn’t feel fresh” towards the end, he stresses.
Binder sees clear progress compared with last year
“The most important thing is that I took it easy all the time. I never really stressed the rear tire and tried to drive as clean as possible. Considering where we were last season, the difference from today is huge. We’ve made a huge step forward.”
Still, it wasn’t quite enough against the Ducatis of Zarco, Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio in the end. “I don’t think we’re far away, we’re super close,” Binder said. “For me it was clear that they had a little bit more grip than us at the end, even though I was saving my tire the whole time.”
“They had a little bit more. But I think that was to be expected because we always use our tires a little bit more than some of our competitors. Last year I ran out of tire with five laps to go, and this time we made it to the finish very competitively. “
