OBAKENG MELETSE
Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder’s fifth-place finish was a brave effort but the Ducati speed train continued to wreak havoc as the battle for the championship continued to heat up.
Binder was in 12th place when the lights went off to begin the Austria leg of the MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday. His early inroads in the opening lap earned him a fifth-place finish in the main race and he collected 11 valuable points to back up the three from the sprint race on Saturday after finishing seventh.
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The 2016 Moto3 world champion ended the weekend on 128 points, three more than his closest rival and teammate for next year, Pedro Acosta as all roads lead to the Gran Premio de Aragon in Spain in a fortnight.
Binder and teammate Jack Miller had front-row seats to the Ducati battle among the top three riders as they followed closely in fourth and fifth. The top three pulled away, while the South African inched ever closer to the rear tyre of Miller, and he got the job done with 22 laps to go, moving into fourth position.
The 29-year-old had fourth position well in his grasp for most of the race, until the Gresini of Marc Marquez eased past him to make it a Ducati top four.
“I can’t ask for more from (Sunday),“ Binder said after the race.
“I gave my best from beginning to the end and tried to not make mistakes and set my own rhythm without murdering the tire! We managed to get home with it in quite a good state.
“Top five – I wanted a bit more for the home grand prix but we figured some good things out this weekend so let’s keep building from here. I think we’ll be okay in Aragon and I’m hoping for a good result.”
Francesco Bagnaia (275 points), meanwhile, reclaimed the drivers’ championship lead ahead of Jorge Martin (270), while Enea Bastianini (214) is also maintaining an interest in the battle for the title.