Top 5 in MotoGP title race still within reach for Brad Binder

Brad Binder kept his chances of finishing in the top five of the MotoGP title race alive by finishing 10th at the Australia Grand Prix on Sunday.

Binder’s 13th consecutive points finish earned him six world championship points to move up to 160 points and close the gap to Jack Miller (179 points) to 19 points.

Miller, who joins Binder at Red Bull KTM next season, had to retire from his home race at Phillip Island.

The race was won by Spaniard Alex Rins, but the big news was world champion Fabio Quartararo crashing out to be overtaken by Francesco Bagnaia in the title race.

Bagnaia finished third to move up to 233 points, with Quartararo stuck on 219 points, 13 ahead of Aleix Espargaro.

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Fight to the finish

Binder made a great start from 16th on the grid to move into the top 10, but fell back to 16th after he was hit in turn four.

He fought his way back to seventh before rear tyre wear saw him slip down the general classification.

“Not happy at all to finish in 10th but we fought the best we could,” Binder told his team’s website after the race.

“I knew that I was being hard on my rear tire. It was a race where you had to save rubber but I didn’t really have a choice after that first lap. I had to push and get as high as I could.”

His younger brother Darryn Binder finished inside the points for the first time in nine races. The Yamaha rider is 22nd in the title race on 12 points after earned two points for his 14th place Down Under.

“I’m glad to find my way back into the points again,” he told his team’s website.

“I had a really good race. The gap to the first position is the closest it’s ever been with 14 seconds!”

The next MotoGP race, the penultimate of the 2022 season, is on 23 October in Malaysia.

To see the 2022 MotoGP calendar, click here.