Brad Binder put up a brave fight at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday. Picture: Red Bull KTM
Red Bull KTM was full of praise for Brad Binder after his rider finished fifth in the Austria MotoGP on Sunday.
Starting from 12th on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, Binder made an excellent start at KTM’s home track and was lying in fourth by mid-race before Marc Marquez overtook him. Marquez made it a top four lockout for Ducati behind race winner Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini. Binder did well to fend off another Ducati in the form of Marco Bezzecchi to get his RC16 over the line as the first non-Ducati.
“Today Brad was simply great. He didn’t make any mistakes and had a great start from the fourth row,” team manager Francesco Guidotti told the KTM website.
“He gave all he had. We know his race attitude and showed what he was able to do.”
The 11 points Binder earned in the main race and another three for finishing seventh in the sprint race saw him move up to 128 points to leapfrog his 2025 team-mate Pedro Acosta (125) into sixth place in the world championship standings. Bagnaia (275) retook the lead in Austria from Martin (270), who is followed by Bastianini (214), Marquez (192) and Maverick Vinales (139).
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“I can’t ask for more from today. I gave my best from beginning to the end and tried to not make mistakes. And set my own rhythm without murdering the tire,” Binder said.
“We managed to get home with it in quite a good state. Top five. I wanted a bit more for the home Grand Prix. But we figured some good things out this weekend so let’s keep building from here.”
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Brad Binder’s younger brother Darryn Binder enjoyed a second consecutive successful outing in Moto2 by finishing seventh. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider earned nine points to move up to 16th in the title race.
The 12th stop on the 20-race calendar is the Aragon Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
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