Binder stars as second MotoGP™ Sprint winner in Argentina!
Krugersdorp's Brad Binder accumulates 12 world championship points to climb to 4th in the standings.
MotoGP™ barreled onto the quick kinks and climes of the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit for the Gran Premio Michelin de la Republica Argentina recently.
Krugersdorp native and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder thrilled the fans with a remarkable launch from 15th to win the second-ever MotoGP Tissot Sprint by fractions of a second. Teammate Jack Miller grabbed 10th place having moved up from 16th. Deniz Öncü shone in Moto3™ with the 2nd spot.
Also read: Brad sets final gears in motion ahead of MotoGP™ 2023
From Portugal to the west, and fast. Argentina was the destination for MotoGP™ with barely a pause between an intense start to the 2023 season and the transcontinental trip to South America. The teams swapped trucks for freight and road for air miles as the fans and fever descended on Termas for the second year in a row.
Brad Binder had made good progress from the discomfort of his neck problem that limited some of his potential in Portugal and the South African wheeled the KTM RC16 to 15th place in qualification after MotoGP™ suffered low grip conditions and unstable weather with bouts of rainfall on Saturday.
In the 12-lap sprint Binder scorched from the bottom of the fifth row of the grid, cut his way to 5th in the opening corners, and seized control by the third lap. Brad put the #33 on top of the podium for the first time since his victory in 2021 in Austria.
Also read: Q & A with Brad Binder ahead of 2023 MotoGP™ season
Brad Binder, 15th in qualification, 1st in the Sprint said, “I surprised myself a little bit: what a start. I got super-tight in Turn 1, held the inside line, and picked them off one at a time. I thought if I could go to the front and fight like hell then maybe I could stay there and the plan worked. I could hear the boys behind me at the end but brought it home. Thanks to my team; the step from yesterday was unreal, the bike was fantastic and I look forward to seeing how we can manage tomorrow.”
The next grand prix will take place in the United States.
