Brad Binder continues chase for elusive win at Qatar MotoGP

With only two MotoGP events left in 2023, time is running out for Brad Binder to record his first win in a main race since 2021.

The Red Bull KTM rider had a disappointing outing in Malaysia last weekend. After finishing fifth in the sprint race on Saturday, he crashed out of the main race from ninth place on the 12^th lap.

Binder and his teammate Jack Miller, who finished eighth in the main race, struggled with braking issues. They had little chance against the Ducati brigade, which occupied the first six sports on the starting grid and the first four places in both the sprint and main race classifications.

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Brad Binder disappointed

“Unfortunately, I just washed-out in Turn 11 and there is not much more to say. We tried a few different things for the race today and with the heat and the grip level, they didn’t really work,” Binder told the KTM website after the race.

The result made little difference to Binder’s position in the championship standings. He is in fourth place on 254 points, 54 points ahead of Johann Zarco (200) in fifth.

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Out of sight from Binder is Francesco Bagnaia (412), Jorge Martin (398) and Marco Bezzecchi (323).
With only the Qatar MotoGP and the Valencia Grand Prix left, all eyes are on the fascinating battle between Bagnaia and Martin.

But Binder has ambitions of his own. Despite his two sprint race wins this year, a main race win is still looming large. Since his thrilling win at the Red Bull Ring in 2021, he has ascended the podium seven times, but not once all the way to the top step.

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Better luck in Qatar?

The KTM man will be confident of his chances in Qatar this weekend in the second of the season-ending triple header. Last year, he lost out to winner Enea Bastianini by a mere 0.346 seconds.

Red Bull KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti is confident they can recover in the quick turnaround before Qatar.

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“Brad crashed and Jack was doing quite well but not what we were expecting. Both were complaining of the same problems so we have to be more focused on this matter,” said Guidotti.

“A strange day and we have to understand how we can be better for Qatar.”

Darryn Binder misses out

Brad Binder’s brother Darryn Binder was ruled out of the Moto2 race after suffering hand and ankle injuries during qualifying. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider is 19^th in the title race on 32 points.

The Qatar Grand Prix is a night racing event, with both the MotoGP sprint and main races starting at 7pm.