OBAKENG MELETSE
Only four races remain in the 2024 MotoGP season, and KTM rider Brad Binder continued to make the best out of tough situations with his sixth place finish in Thailand.
Starting from 13th position on the grid, the South African rider faced even greater challenges due to the wet conditions at the Buriram International Circuit. However, as the lights went out, Binder’s tenacity shone through. His skills on a wet track came to the fore, allowing him to surge through the field and secure a top five position in the early phases of the race.
“I knew it would be important to get to the front early because of the spray, and that worked out pretty well,” Binder noted after the race. “I felt really comfortable, thanks to my guys for the changes we made because I felt great in the wet.”
The KTM RC16 offered considerable promise at the start of the season, yet Binder's recent performances have revealed a trend of him fading in the final laps as tyre wear takes its toll. This weekend was no exception, especially when teammate Jack Miller capitalised on a mistake by Binder with 19 laps to go, resulting in a rare fifth place finish for Miller, while the South African struggled to recover his position.
“It was just a shame that I had squared the tyre by the last four or five laps and was just spinning a lot. Hard to drive out of the corners. I wanted more, but having started 13th and scored sixth, then that’s all we had today,” Binder reflected.
The battle at the front took a dramatic turn as Francesco Bagnaia rode fiercely to win the Grand Prix, successfully reducing Jorge Martin’s lead to 17 points. Completing the podium was Pedro Acosta, who now trails his future teammate Binder by only six points with two rounds left in the championship.
The next destination for the MotoGP circuit will be Malaysia, and team manager Francesco Guidotti expressed satisfaction with both riders' performances this weekend.
“The visibility in the first laps was crazy, but both Jack and Brad recovered a lot of positions, and we had third until two laps from the end,” Guidotti said.
“We missed the podium by almost nothing. The conditions were hard, a mess, and to stay up was a miracle. Congratulations to our guys for their job and we’ll look forward to Sepang.”