Binder on slippery slope as he drops to 8th in MotoGP title race

Brad Binder’s MotoGP season is fast derailing after suffering another disappointment at the Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Red Bull KTM rider could only earn eight points in Barcelona for his eighth-place finish in the main race. He has also slipped to eighth in the MotoGP championship.

Binder looked set for much bigger points grab after posting the second fastest time despite two crashes during practice on Friday. After qualifying fourth on the grid just 0.14 seconds off pole, he was leading the sprint race before losing the front end of his RC16 machine going into turn five.

‘Tricky day’ for Brad Binder

Another strong start on Sunday saw him stay with the leading pack for the first six laps. But Binder started losing pace due to front tyre issues and finished 18.5 seconds behind winner Francesco Bagnaia.

“It was a bit tricky in the race today. We’d been good here all weekend. But after six laps in the race the front tyre dropped off and in the last few weeks when I’ve ignored that strange feeling then I end-up crashing,” Binder told KTM’s website.

“So today I needed to be a bit careful and when I felt the limit coming I had to lower the pace. I could not make time on braking and entry and nursing it around meant there were not really moments where I could make pace. A tricky day.”

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MotoGP title race

Bagnaia (116 points) managed to close the gap to title race leader and runner-up Jorge Martin (155) ever so slightly. Six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez is third on 114 points, followed by Enea Bastianini (94) and Maverick Vinales (87). Pedro Acosta (75) is sixth, followed by Aleix Espargaro (76) and Binder (75).

“Brad tried really hard to stay with the leaders and was managing it until the front feeling started to drop and he also didn’t have the best grip from the rear. He controlled what he could and brought the bike home. Let’s try again in Mugello,” said KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti.

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Darryn in the points again

Brad Binder’s younger brother Darryn Binder finished in the points for the second consecutive Moto2 race. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider earned two points for finishing 14th to see his tally go up to five.

Brad Binder will have little time to lick his wounds with the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello coming up this weekend. It was here where he last year clocked the fastest all-time MotoGP speed of 366.1km/h.