Close podium finish for Brad at Aragon MotoGP™

Brad Binder raced to 4th place and his second-best finish of the current MotoGP™ season at MotorLand Aragon in Spain on Sunday, September 18.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and Krugersdorp resident made a brilliant start and remained in podium contention for the entire duration of the race, which was the 15th of 20 rounds and the penultimate European Grand Prix of the campaign.

MotoGP™ moved from the San Marino Grand Prix and a subsequent two-day test at Misano straight to Spain and the sprawling, technical blend of 17 corners at MotorLand Aragon. The circuit first entertained MotoGP™ in 2010 and as well as being a long, diverse and undulating course the asphalt is also slick and aged. Tyre consumption was high, adding an element of strategic endurance to the 23-lap race distance and not assisted by the decent late summer temperatures in eastern Spain.

Binder began the Grand Prix race from the peak of the fourth row of the grid and seared into 2nd around the tight opening turns. From that point the South African, who was nursing a sore right ankle after his fall in FP3 on Saturday, September 17 was fast, competitive and error-free as he held 3rd position.

With two laps remaining Binder succumbed to pressure from Aleix Espargaro and on the charge to the line missed his second rostrum by just 0.2 of a second.

All in all, I’m happy to walk away with 4th today,” Binder said.

“I gave everything I had in the race and the bike was working the best it had been all weekend again, so hats off to the team for a fantastic job. I think we had a pretty good weekend here. Unfortunately, the crash in FP3 set me back a bit with my ankle but I was able to put it aside today and fight my way forward. I had an amazing start and was in the top three the whole race, so it was a bit disappointing to lose the podium with two laps to go, but it wasn’t to be today. We have a little bit of work to do to make that last step and fight for podiums again.”

Teammate Miguel Oliveira was scouring the fringe of the top 10 in the opening stages of the race but rear-end traction issues limited his potential and he rode proactively to bring the KTM RC16 to the line in 11th.

Remy Gardner was the highest Tech3 KTM Factory Racing rider in Aragon. The Australian rode to 16th and narrowly missed out on his fifth haul of points this year. Raul Fernandez was 20th as both riders had to use evasive action to avoid two accidents in the first seven corners.

For the first time since 2019, MotoGP™ will again thrill Japanese fans as Mobility Resort Motegi gets ready to stage the world championship. The race is set to run on Sunday, September 25.