Brad Binder Diary - Bikes and Boks in Malaysia

Last week’s win in Australia was pretty much the perfect race for me considering I led from the start to the finish. That is one of those things you want to do as a rider. All three of my wins this year have been like that, leading from the first corner and staying in front lap after lap.

Remember recently when I said Jorge Martin, my teammate, had a lot more podiums in him? Well, he was my toughest competition last week as we took the 1-2 in Australia. He stuck with me for most of the race. I could see he could sit behind me and I battled to open up the gap. The gap sat at 0.2secs, 0.3secs and 0.5secs the whole race. Then, on one lap I made a mistake and it came down to 0.1secs, so I put my head down and tried to pull away. The last two or three laps I pushed really hard and got a good gap on him.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team seems to always do well on the flyaway section of the season. We have won, I think, four GPs in Japan, Australia and Malaysia in the last three years. I’m not sure what the magic is. Perhaps it is just that I really enjoy the flyaway races so much. I like hanging out with my team and think these tracks suit us really well. I think it is also a lot more relaxed than in Europe where it is more like you are racing at a national event. Here you can focus more on the riding and not the other noise around the race.

I’ve been asked how we have got the bike to perform better in the second half of the season. More than anything I think we have just tried to focus on what we have instead of trying to redesign the wheel every time. We have adapted what we have, worked on our strong points and made them stronger.

For those who saw people in KTM kit with a South African flag on the broadcast of the race, well that wasn’t my mum and dad in the crowd. They normally come to my races in Europe but haven’t done the Australian trip before. I did have a lot of friends in Australia. It was great to see how many South African flags were around the track.

My brother, Darryn, had an incredible race and took sixth in Moto3. He started in 26th position on the grid and he led the race for a few laps. At the end, unfortunately, he got a bit cut out at one corner, which messed his race up a bit. But anyone who can come from 26th to sixth, that is a fantastic ride. It was a good weekend for the Binder family.

Actually, it was an awesome all-round weekend for South Africa, with the Springboks going through to the Rugby World Cup final. I watched the semifinal in the rental car on the way to the airport after the race on Sunday. It was awesome to see how they fought all the way. That belief and heart is a very South African thing. We do not give up as a nation. The Springboks have made us proud and I can’t wait to watch them in the final.

The final on Saturday is around 4pm Malaysia time, which is just after my qualifying. My plan is that I am definitely going to try and find a place to sit down and stream the match. My message to the Springboks is a simple one – good luck and I am sure you will make us proud as South Africans. You already have made us proud with how you have played in Japan.

Read more about Binder’s season so far on Red Bull's official site >>>