Martin Schnellster, Binder brings back fourth place in the Styrian Grand Prix

KTM rider Brad Binder, who was born in SA, stormed from 16th place on the grid to fourth place at the Styrian Grand Prix.

Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin fought off Suzuki reigning World Champion Joan Mir to seal his first MotoGP win on Sunday at the Styrian Grand Prix, which was stopped and restarted after a fireball incident.

Pole-sitter Martin was under immense pressure from Mir, but finished 1,548 seconds ahead of the Suzuki driver and gave Pramac his first MotoGP win of his rookie season.

Yamaha’s world champion Fabio Quartararo completed the podium and extended his lead to 40 points over pursuer Johann Zarco von Pramac, who finished sixth.

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The race was stopped on lap three after KTM’s Dani Pedrosa fell at the exit of Turn 3 and Aprilia Racing’s Lorenzo Savadori hit Pedrosa with his crashed motorcycle.

The crash caused a fire on the track and the race was interrupted for more than half an hour.

Pedrosa was unhurt from the incident and finished tenth in his first MotoGP race since 2018, while Savadori did not return for the restart.

South African Brad Binder delivered an impressive performance to KTM from 16th on the grid, finishing fourth and ninth overall, while Honda’s six-time premier class winner Marc Marquez was eighth.

Italian Valentino Rossi, who announced his retirement at the end of the season on Thursday, finished 13th on his Petronas Yamaha. He was 42 years old in February.

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