Beast of a bike gives Binder his best start

Brad Binder’s ability has never been in doubt, given his many stellar performances in MotoGP, and now his 2023 KTM has given him the chance to showcase his talents.

The introduction of the Sprint Races has presented the opportunity for the South African to go on an all-out offensive and so far this season it has resulted in two victories in the shortened races. Last time out Brad made his first appearance on the main race podium losing out on victory in the dying stages in Jerez to Francesco Bagnaia.

Binder’s double podium in Spain has seen him ascend to third in the riders’ standings, the highest he has even been in the championship after four races.

In his debut season in 2020, he found himself fourth in the championship 26 points behind the leader, mostly courtesy of his maiden race win at the Czech MotoGP. But that was as good as it got for him that season as three crashes and only three more top-10 finishes saw him finish the campaign in 11th place.

Brad managed just 21 points from the opening four races in 2021 but a strong run of top-10 finishes and a fantastic win in the rain at KTM’s home race in Austria saw the South African climb to sixth place in the championship come the end of the season.

Although brad made is best start of 42 points from four Grand Prix in 2022, he did not have a machine that was capable of challenging for race wins. He did manage his best podium haul, picking up three second-place finishes.

Consistency has been one of Binder's greatest assets and now that his KTM is capable of fighting for victories Brad has all the assets necessary to mount a serious title challenge.

Francesco Bagnaia though looks unflappable in his title defence. The Italian leads the championship on 87 points, 25 more than Binder, and he has dragged his Ducati over the line in first place in two Grand Prix and one Sprint Race.

If the South African is to become the 2023 MotoGP World Champion his team will need to keep his bike competitive, Brad will need to be as consistently quick as ever, and he will need a bit of luck, or rather for Bagnaia to have some bad luck.

The next instalment of the MotoGP season takes place at the iconic Le Mans Circuit where Binder and Bagnaia will be looking to continue the battle they started in Jerez.