Despite another gutsy ride in the main race of the Argentina MotoGP on Sunday, Red Bull KTM Brad Binder could not add any points to the 12 he earned for winning the sprint race in emphatic fashion on Saturday.
After romping from 15th on the grid to pip a flying Mario Bezzecchi in the sprint race on Saturday, the scene was set for more heroics from Binder in wet conditions at the Termas de Rio Hondo on Sunday. But any hopes of another masterclass were dashed on the first lap when he fell off his KTM after contact with Maverick Vinales. Binder managed to get up and bravely completed the race, but lost too much time to make an impact and finished in 17th place – two places outside the points.
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Bezzecchi won his first premier class race ahead of Johann Zarco and Alex Marquez. Bezzecchi’s haul of 35 points in Argentina helped him move up to 50 points in the world championship to overtake Bagnaia (41 points).
Brad Binder in eighth place
Binder is in eighth place in the MotoGP world championship standings on 22 points, three behind KTM team-mate Jack Miller, who finished sixth on Sunday.
“I was quite excited to have a wet race. It’s been quite a while since we had one. I felt pretty good,” Binder told the KTM website.
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“Unfortunately at the end of the back straight I had a bit of a connection with someone and the back-end spun around on me. I picked up and restarted and then just tried to ride.
“If there had been a red flag or some other incident then I would have had another chance. Anyway, we finished the race. It was really tough and super-long.”
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Wet blanket
Red Bull KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti admitted that the wet weather was always going to make it difficult for Binder to repeat his Saturday heroics.
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“Visibility is poor and you cannot attack into the first corner and around the first laps like Brad showed us yesterday,” said Guidotti.
“It’s a shame for Brad and the crash. it ended his race so early.”
Darryn scores points
Brad Binder’s younger brother Darryn Binder, who failed to finish the first race in Portugal, earned his first point in Moto2 in Argentina. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider finished 6ixth to earn 10 world championship points.
The next stop on the MotoGP calendar is the Grand Prix of the Americas on 14 to 16 April.
