Brad Binder shows his class to contribute to KTM’s Spielberg party

Brad Binder’s sixth place at the Austria MotoGP on Sunday was a bittersweet result for the Red Bull KTM rider.

Sweet in the sense that it is his best result of the season, but bitter because it was a timely reminder of what he is capable of on a competitive bike. The RC16 shone at its home track at the Red Bull Ring all weekend and finished on a high with Binder’s team-mate Pedro Acosta breaking his premier class win duck. It was KTM’s second win at the track after Binder’s victory there in 2021.

Starting from 11th on the grid, Binder earned one point in Saturday’s sprint race for finishing ninth, before adding 10 points to his tally on Sunday. He was at one stage running in fifth and in the end fought his way back from seventh to cross the line in sixth place.

Brad Binder wanted more

“Overall, I’d say a successful weekend here in Red Bull Ring and I’m happy to have got my best finish of the year. I would have liked to have been a bit further up the grid but I did my best,” said Binder, who heads to the World Superbike Championship next year.

“[I was] happy with the pace we were able to put together and happy with the work by the team. Well done to them, and also to Pedro on his first victory; I’m sure it’s the first of many.”

Binder is still 13th in the title race on 94 points, but did close the gap to Enea Bastianini (97) and Luca Marini (98).

Martin takes control

Jorge Martin, who went into Spielberg level on 274 points with Marc Marquez, added a runner-up place in the main race to his sprint race win to take control of the championship on 306 points. Marquez is on 294 points, followed by Marco Bezzecchi (264).

Teenager Ruché Moodley had another weekend to forget. He finished in 19th place and still hasn’t opened his points account for the season.

MotoGP now takes a week off before heading east for a double header in Japan and Indonesia.