Brad goes big in Japan with podium finish
Krugersdorp's Brad Binder again showed his pure racer’s creed by taking his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 to runner-up status at a sunny and warm Mobility Resort Motegi circuit for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.
Round 16 of the current MotoGP™ series held on the last weekend of September transported the world championship from Spain directly to Motegi and the first circulations of the Japanese course since 2019.
The Grand Prix was affected by rain and humid conditions during practice and qualification, which saw Brad Binder excel in Q2 to place 3rd in the classification and start from the front row of the grid for the first time in his young MotoGP™ career. Miguel Oliveira was not far away in 8th.
Sunday, September 25 presented a different challenge as the skies cleared to be replaced by sunshine. The switch of climate meant a change of setup for the teams and riders, and a degree of tyre choice guesswork for the 24-lap race in mid-afternoon.
As he did in Aragon the previous week, Binder made a lively getaway and swept into the lead around the first corner. He had little answer to the speed of future teammate Jack Miller but produced a remarkable overtaking move on Jorge Martin through Turn 1 on the last lap to seize P2, equalling his best result so far in 2022.
“I’m really, really happy to be back on the podium today. I pushed as hard as I could right from the beginning. I had a few moments with the hard rear tyre and it took me a while to find my confidence but in the end we made a good choice because I became more comfortable and could find my braking markers better. It was so difficult to pass Jorge but I arrived at that point on the last lap right at the perfect time in Turn 1.
Thank you so much to my team: they all deserve this podium and we have all worked hard for this.”
Oliveira briefly matched Binder’s pace in the formative stages but then had his hands full with Marc Marquez. The Portuguese was still able to bring his RC16 home in 5th and his third top-five classification of the campaign. Miguel’s efforts also ensured both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing bikes breached the first five positions together for the first time in 2022 and the squad are currently the fourth best team of 12 on the grid.
Raul Fernandez was the highest-ranked rider for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing. The Spaniard beat his teammate, Remy Gardner, by just a 10th of a second as the pair fought for 18th position.
MotoGP™ continues its intense run of events with round 17 taking place on Sunday, October 2 at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram for the OR Thailand Grand Prix.
