It all started when Brad Binder was only eight years old….

For Brad Binder, who last Sunday became the first South African to win a World Championship MotoGP race, there was never a Plan B.

From the age of 10, he and his family firmly believed that he would become a professional motorcycle racer, win Grands Prix and, ultimately, world titles. That becomes apparent when one skims through Binder’s background. Born in Potchefstroom, he started racing 150cc motorcycles on short circuits in Gauteng at the age of eight and his dad, Trevor, bought him a 125cc long circuit racing bike the next year.

“The riders Brad raced against in these junior formulas, like Greg Gildenhuys, Brent Harran and Cameron Petersen, all ended up racing here and overseas with success – it seems that generation had a deep talent pool,” his proud father told The Citizen.

Binder took the lead at the MotoGP of Czech Republic in Brno on Sunday by overtaking Italian Franco Morbidelli on the 13th lap. Picture: Getty Images.

In 2009 Brad made his debut in the European Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup with a series of consistent performances leading to an invitational wild card 125cc Grand Prix ride on his 16th birthday. The die was cast, and Brad, his brother Darren and mother Sharon moved to Spain, where the boys were home-schooled in Barcelona. Darren, three years Brad’s junior, is currently competing in his sixth season in Moto3.

“We needed to decide whether we were going to do this thing properly or not, and to do it properly, you need to live in Europe. I mostly stayed home to run our mining engineering business, but I would fly to the races and be the mechanic,” Trevor says.

Although his parents couldn’t share the moment with him in person because of all the travel restrictions, Brad was quick to acknowledge their support throughout his career.

Binder and Kork Ballington, who won four world titles in the 250cc and 350cc classes representing South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, pose together in Australia where Ballington resides these days. Picture: Getty Images.

“Coming overseas as a youngster required a lot of adaptation. I was lucky to have my dad on my side. When I started, he was always my mechanic. Even before going into the Rookies Cup, when we were racing in South Africa, my dad prepared all my bikes,” said Brad, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday. “He did all the engine, everything, and I knew he firmly believed in my abilities and dedication.”

Binder started to ride an Aprilia in the then 125cc Grand Prix championship during 2011. That became the Moto3 title chase the next year, and Brad stayed in Moto3 with teams like Kalex KTM, Suter Honda, Mahindra and finally Red Bull KTM, for whom he clinched the world title in 2016. In so doing, he became the first South African to win a motorcycle world title since Jon Ekerold won the 350cc class in 1981.

He spent the next two seasons in Moto2 with KTM satellite team Tech3, for whom he finished second in the title chase last year. Meanwhile, KTM designed and built their first MotoGP motorcycle, joining the top echelon of the sport in 2019. Binder was confirmed as a factory KTM MotoGP rider towards the end of last year and took the giant leap from Moto2 to the world’s most powerful and violent circuit racing motorcycles.

Binder celebrates his Moto3 world title with members of his KTM team in 2016. Picture: Getty Images.

At that stage very few experts would have predicted any podium places, but Binder, describing the switch to MotoGP as “an incredibly steep learning curve” got down to it in a remarkably short time. He finished 13th in the year-opening race in Spain to become the first South African since Dave Petersen in 1987 to score points in the top class. But he crashed out of the second round at the Jerez circuit and was certainly not seen as a leading contender for the Czech Republic last weekend.

Binder responded by qualifying seventh, passing everybody in front of him during the race and winning in style, becoming the first MotoGP rookie to win since Marc Marquez did it back in 2013. His impressive ride had seasoned television commentators in awe and even drew praise from President Cyril Ramaphosa, who thanked Binder for ”lifting South African spirits”.

“It is unbelievable, crazy. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid. After winning the last three races of the 2019 Moto2 season, I was wondering when I would taste the champagne again,” Binder bubbled after his first premier class win to go with his seven Moto3 and eight Moto2 race wins.

Riding a Mahindra, Binder stood on the Moto3 podium for the very first time at the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in 2014. Picture: Getty Images.

He said he used the enforced Covid-19 lay-off to train hard and learn as much as he could about the MotoGP machine’s electronic traction control systems.

“Last November, when we tested the MotoGP bike at Valencia, I was last on the time sheets. I had to wrap my mind around the sheer brutality of the big bike and learn how to cooperate with the electronic systems. It seems I am beginning to get it right,” he joked.

The Red Bull KTM team’s strategy for the Brno race revolved around managing the tyres. “The plan was to be gentle on the tires in the first laps and save them for the second half of the race,” Binder says.

Binder tries his luck riding the waves ahead of the MotoGP of Australia at Phillip Island in 2014. Picture: Getty Images.

“After starting seventh, I could see other riders were struggling more than I was, and so I passed them. Eventually, I realised that I was leading a MotoGP, and knew I had to stay calm, smooth and collected. It was the craziest final 10 laps of my life, and I knew I could not do anything aggressive, since my rear tyre was also dead by that time. In the final three laps, even with no one behind me I blocked the lines just in case, and the chequered flag was the best sight I have seen in my life,” Binder adds.

According to another young South African racing sensation, Sheldon van der Linde, there was an even better sight than the chequered flag on Sunday. In paying tribute to Binder during a video call this week, Van der Linde singled out the moment Valentino Rossi pulled up besides Binder on his victory lap to congratulate him on his achievement. The legendary Italian won the last of his seven premier class world titles when Binder was still only 14.

”Brad his really done an amazing job over the last few years and has proven to everyone around him that he is one of the best in the world,” said Van der Linde, who drives for BMW in the prestigious DTM touring car series in Europe. “It’s just insane to see him racing and given a handshake by Rossi. That is crazy to see.” It is widely predicted that Binder’s steady rise will only get crazier.

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