Weekend to forget for Darryn Binder and Ruché Moodley at Italian MotoGP.
Brad Binder hopes his solid ninth place in the Italian MotoGP is just the start of better things to come.
The Red Bull KTM rider was under serious pressure going into Sunday’s main race. His crash on the first corner of the sprint race on Saturday meant that he went down in five of seven starts, with only three championship points to show.
He made a good start from 15th on the starting grid at Mugello on Sunday and quickly found himself in contention for the top 10. He moved up to eighth place late in the race before team-mate Pedro Acosta edged him by less than three hundredths of a second for eighth place.
Brad Binder stays positive
The seven points Binder earned for ninth place saw him move up one place to 13th in the title race on 42 points. Marc Marquez is running away with the MotoGP championship on 270 points.
“It was a tricky race and I’m glad to finish. It’s by no means what I wanted but at least it’s a starting point,” Binder told the KTM website after the race.
“Importantly I found out what we need to finish for next week, and if we can get a little bit more stability it will be very beneficial.”
ALSO READ: Brad Binder apologises to Red Bull KTM after double French flop
KTM boss delighted
KTM team boss Aki Ajo was also glad to see a strong finish from Binder.
“For Brad it was a solid day after some crashes recently. It was important to finish and get some confidence back,” Ajo said.
Things did not go all that well for the rest of the South African contingent in Italy. Brad Binder’s brother Darryn finished outside the Moto2 points in 21st place, while Ruché Moodley crashed out on lap two of the Moto3 race.
The next stop on the calendar, the 10th of the 22-race season, is the Grand Prix of the Netherlands next weekend.
