Brad Binder scored another impressive podium on Sunday, warding off the interest of former teammate Miguel Oliveira to claim an morale-boosting and important third-place finish.
It was a thrilling conclusion to the British Grand Prix with their first four riders crossing the line within touching distance of each other. Oliveira’s Aprilia teammate Aleix Espargaro stole the victory on the final lap from defending world champion Francesco Bagnaia, as the sparing for podium places finished in compelling action, compounded by the threat of rain.
Binder started the afternoon in 10th place on the grid. Despite making light contact with another rider on the first corner of the race – which pushed him off track momentarily - and with the help of his medium compound tyres and the ferocious pace of his Red Bull KTM, Binder propelled himself quickly into podium contention.
He summarily overtook Maverick Vinales into third-place and survived the subsequent skirmishing for the top three places to secure his seventh MotoGP podium. It will surely come as a massive relief and confidence boost after the 27-year-old fluffed his podium chance at the Assen TT in the previous race.
Then, while in third place on the last corner of the last lap, Binder exceeded track limits by centimetres and received an immediate penalty, which dropped him down to fourth spot.
“It was really tricky,” Binder said, after the race at Silverstone this past weekend, “and very sketchy at the end.
“This track is so big and covers so much space that it was wet in some sectors and dry in others. It was hard to understand how much I could push.
Hats off to the team - they did an amazing job and the bike was fantastic. I wanted the win for them (Sunday) but third will have to do.
“Days like this are awesome for a podium finish just because of how difficult it was.”
Due to his consistency this season – in nine races, he has only failed to not score any points in two events – Binder currently finds himself in fourth place in the world riders championship. He is 36 points behind the Top 3 of Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, and holds a slender nine point lead over fifth-placed Johann Zarco.
The next GP next weekend is on KTM’s home turf at the Red Bull Ring in Australia, and both team and rider will want to continue their upward trajectory there.
“A good weekend, especially for Brad’s podium,” said team manager Francesco Guidotti post-race.
“Jack (Miller) was first and in the leading group until the contact with Viñales. Some good speed and good signs in various conditions at this Grand Prix.
“Brad fought until the end of the race and we are happy with the third place. It’s important to see our progression.
“We missed the podium in Assen but we made it here and now we are looking forward to the home race with a lot of confidence,” he concluded.
IOL Sport