Brad Binder out to break his MotoGP duck in Malaysia

Brad Binder will be hoping it’s a case of while two dogs are fighting over a bone, a third runs away with it at the Malaysia MotoGP this weekend.

Most of the attention in Sepang will be on the title race fight between reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. While Binder might not be in contention for the grand prize anymore, he still has his own ambitions. Despite winning two sprint races this year, the Red Bull KTM rider has not been on the top step of 45 main races since 2021 and will be out to change that.

Brad Binder upbeat

“I feel like we have been fast on most of the last tracks, especially the last five or six. I would like nothing more to finally get a win for my team, as I feel they have really deserved it,” Binder told the pre-race press conference in Malasia on Thursday.

“We’ve won two sprint races, but to get the main race is the goal.”

During the previous race in Thailand, Binder finished second behind Martin in both the sprint and main race. He was later demoted to third place in the main race for exceeding track limits. Bagnaia, who finished 0.139 seconds behind the KTM man, was promoted to second place.

The 0.235 seconds that separated the top three in Buriram was the closet podium finish in premier class history.

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Fourth place secure

“The plan is to pick up where we left off last time around and we [are] part of the leading bunch. Hopefully, we can fight it out until the last lap again. And getting it right would be nice,” Binder added.

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The 25 points he earned in Thailand saw him move up to 249 points and all but confirmed a fourth place in the title race. Binder is 51 points ahead of Aleix Espargaro in fifth and 61 points behind Marco Bezzecchi in third.

Binder on the fence

Quizzed on who he thinks will win the world championship between Bagnaia (389) and Martin (376), Binder was as elusive as Cheslin Kolbe in full flight.

“Both of them have done a unreal job. I’ve had the opportunity to ride behind them a lot, unfortunately, as I don’t finish many race in front of them,” was Binder’s diplomatic response.

“Pecco has the experience of having done it before, while Jorge is [in] incredible form, winning most of the races lately. I’m as excited as all of you to see the outcome.”

The sprint race at the Malaysia MotoGP starts at 9am, followed by the main race at 9am on Sunday.