Brad Binder’s massive gamble pays off in Austria as he wins second MotoGP race

All MotoGP riders have a touch of madness about them. This, after all, isn’t a sport for anyone with a fearful bone in their body. But even among the testosterone-fuelled, Kevlar-clad gladiators on 280 horsepower, two-wheel steeds in MotoGP, Binder is an alpha warrior.

On Sunday, the 26-year-old South African showed what rival team boss Davide Tardozzi of Ducati described as “two big balls” to win a wild race that ended in heavy rain.

Binder, on his Red Bull KTM, claimed his second career MotoGP win at the team’s home race. Astonishingly he completed the race on slick tyres in treacherous conditions, as rain lashed the Red Bull Ring circuit on the slopes of the Styrian Alps over the last three laps.

Brad heeded some advice from younger brother Darryn, who rides in the lower-class Moto3 division when the rain began to fall.

“I remember my brother (Darryn) telling me that he was impressed with how much grip there was in the wet with slicks, so I think that had something to do with it,” a smiling Binder said after the race.

“But you know what, I would happily have crashed giving it a go. At the end of the day I’m really happy to be here right now.”

Stayed out

Most of his rivals dived into the pits with about six laps to go to change bikes when the rain started, but Binder decided to stay out on his dry-weather slick tyres. It was a gamble as he went from sixth to first as five riders in front of him plunged into the paddock.

At the end of lap 23, with five laps remaining, Marc Márquez, championship leader Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia, world champion Joan Mir and rookie sensation Jorge Martín swung off, giving Binder clear track as the rain intensified.

The South African, who had started 10th on the grid, suddenly found himself leading with five laps to go. He made the most of the decent conditions for one more lap to extend his lead to close to a minute, but when the rain started falling heavily with three laps to go, Binder had to use all his skill and nerve to stay upright.

He stayed out on slick tyres even though his grip was gone and his lap times were plummeting as a consequence.

“When I saw the guys pull up into the pit, I decided to take the gamble and try to push it out to the end,” Binder said. “It was incredibly sketchy to try and get the bike home as the carbon brakes lost temperature. It feels like you don’t have brakes anymore. I lost my brakes with two laps to go because they went cold which meant there was no grip at all. It was like riding on ice.”

Binder admitted that before the rain fell, he was having a difficult race where he struggled with his tyres in the dry conditions. It looked like it was going to be another Grand Prix without a podium for Binder, who had yet to place in the top three in 2021.

“I am so incredibly happy to have walked away with the win today because the beginning of the race was super hard for us,” Binder said after adding a second win in the sport’s premier class after victory in Brno in 2020.

Brad Binder rejoices after winning the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. (Photo: GEPA pictures/ Daniel Goetzhaber/Red Bull Content Pool)