Brad Binder cautiously optimistic 2023 can be his year in MotoGP

Will 2023 be the year in which Mzansi racing ace Brad Binder writes himself into the history books as the first South African to be crowned the world’s premier class motorcycling champion?

If it depended on talent and ability alone, without a doubt. But in the Adrenaline Game the competitor’s machinery plays as big a role as anything else towards success. Binder will only be able to add the MotoGP crown to his 2016 Moto3 world title if his Red Bull KTM RC16 holds up against the fierce competition around it.

The 2023 season starts in Portugal this weekend.

Brad Binder ninth in testing

The factory KTM outfit didn’t exactly set the world alight during the last official two-day testing in Portugal earlier this month, staving off the impression Binder fans would likely have to brace for another “same old same old” in 2023. Binder recorded the ninth best time on the second day at Portimao, while his new team-mate Jack Miller finished a lowly 17th.

“We are closer to where we need to be,” was Binder’s honest take on the two days of testing.

“There is definitely a step we can still make before the race but I think we are more or less ready to go into the season.”

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Ducatis in ominous form

Although the 27-year-old Binder did not manage to win in 2022, it was the most consistent of his three seasons in MotoGP. He won a race in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but failed to record any other podium finishes. Last year he stood on the podium three times as runner-up to record his second consecutive sixth place in the world championship.

Judging on pre-season form, KTM will have to show a serious improvement to outperform Ducati, Aprillia, Honda and Yamaha on a consistent basis. The Ducatis showed ominous pre-season form and it’s not surprising that reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia has been instilled as the odds-on favourite to secure his second MotoGP crown in 2023.

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Sprint races

Set to make things really interesting this year is the introduction of the Saturday sprint races. Unlike Formula 1, in which only a handful of events on the annual calendar include sprint races, every one of the 21 races on the MotoGP calendar will have one on a Saturday.

There will still be two free practice sessions on a Friday ahead of every race, with the third free practice on Saturday mornings reduced from 45 to 30 minutes. This will be followed by the familiar Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions, which will be used to determine the starting grid for both the sprint race on the Saturday afternoon and the main race on the Sunday afternoon.

The sprint race will be half the distance of the main race. Points will be on offer for the first nine riders to cross the finish line, with the winner bagging a dozen points and the ninth placed rider one point.

After seven seasons in Moto3 and a solitary season in MotoGP last year, Brad Binder’s younger brother Darryn Binder will make his Moto2 debut for Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP this weekend.