Brad Binder could have been on the podium at the Catalan Grand Prix had he not made a key mistake after the second restart.
His hopes of a strong result looked doomed when he had to exit the starting grid, costing him his third row slot and dropping him to the back of the grid. He later explained that the clutch was burned on the lap when it was hot.
But after a chaotic race that saw two red flags and several penalties, the South African equaled his best result of the season to finish seventh.
Amidst the red flags, some impressive performances at the Catalan Grand Prix. But which rider stood out the most to you?
Brad Binder ‘completely messed up’ after Catalan GP start
When the competition returns after the competition The fall of Alex MarquezBinder made what he called his ‘best start ever’, gaining 12 places in the triangle. However, the race was stopped immediately after the incident involving Francesco Bagnaia, Yohan Zarco and Luca Marini.
He dropped back to P19 for the second restart but once again crossed the field and this time climbed to P10, costing him a few seconds with a mistake in turn one.
On the other side, Pedro Acosta’s factory KTM (which put the Spaniard out of the race) was penalized in the last corner with Ai Ogura. Joan Mir stopped 16 seconds for a tyro-pressure violationAfter Binder crossed the line in P9, he moved to P7.
But third-placed Francesco Bagnaia was less than a second down the road, showing just how much the aforementioned mistake cost him.
“I completely messed up a turn,” he reflected Speed ​​week. “I stood outside, turned inside and disappeared for a few seconds.”
“It’s a shame that I started from 20th place in eighth, but that’s what happened. There were positive aspects to the weekend, but I think it’s been largely forgotten.”
still, binding After his best one-round trip of the year, he felt he had a good turnaround in Barcelona: “My pace has improved a lot. I feel like we’re finally making progress.”
says Neil Hodgson Eligibility is Binder’s Weakness ‘Forever’So Saturdays clearly hold the key to changing the form.
Binder is fighting for his future. In the sport, after KTM signed Alex Marquez and Fabio D’Gianntonio to form a new factory line. They have at least extended their agreement with Tech3, which opens up the safety net as much as possible.
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