Jack Miller has thrown his support behind Darryn Binder after it was confirmed that the South African will emulate his unprecedented leap from Moto3 to the MotoGP World Championship in 2022.
After weeks of speculation, Binder was officially confirmed for the next season in the withU RNF Yamaha Team, which will be renamed from the Petronas SRT / Sprinta team with which the 23-year-old is currently racing in the quarter-liter class.
He is paired with the experienced 14-time race winner Andrea Dovizioso and joins his older brother Brad, who is under contract with KTM, on the 24-strong starting line-up.
It is only the second time since Moto3 evolved from the 125GP class in 2012 that a rider has made a “double promotion” in MotoGP, the first time being Jack Miller, who rode the 2015 open-top LCR Honda.
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Though Binder’s Moto3 form – a win in seven seasons of the competition – doesn’t compare to Miller’s six wins in three seasons, the Australian wholeheartedly supports the South African, suggesting that it would have been stupid not the opportunity presented to him to use .
“I think he has all the power. Having stood by this throughout my MotoGP career, this move doesn’t come twice for a lot of people when you get the chance, when you know what I mean,” said Miller.
“If you have the chance, it’s best to get in and try it because a lot of people can’t do that, they can’t ride the fastest motorcycles in the world against the best riders in the world.
“So if you have the opportunity why not use it and if someone can, I think it’s Daz. He has this wild style, he can ride a bike when it moves and what not. So i don’t think this will be a problem.
“He’s got a lot more experience on bigger bikes than I did when I moved to MotoGP, he rode superbikes and 600s and all.
“But yes, nothing can prepare you for any of these things [MotoGP], it’s so far from everything else you never know until you’re here. So just try to come here. “
Will lightning strike twice for the RNF MotoGP team?
Razlan Razalis RNF Racing – née Petronas SRT – has only been in MotoGP since 2019, but in three short years it has made itself felt not only as a front runner but also as an avid talent scout.
With the signing of Fabio Quartararo, although observers thought the Frenchman was talented for breaking records on the junior ladder before the GP, many felt his star was slacking off during indifferent campaigns in Moto2 and Moto3 would have.
However, two years later, and the same rider is on the cusp of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, Razali and Johan Stigefelt have made the effort to look beyond the results and consider a data-driven approach to decide which riders are best for a MotoGP machine are suitable.
It’s an approach one hopes will bring back gold with Binder, although it has to be pointed out that it wasn’t exactly the first option after Franco Morbidelli was poached prematurely for the factory team, Toprak Razgatlioglu declined and KTM resisted approaches for Raul Fernandez.
Even so, RNF would have had other safer options than Binder, but has clearly spotted something in the youngster from working with him that suggests that he could get along with a MotoGP bike more easily than his status suggests.
Indeed, Binder’s lanky frame and hectic style means he’s likely screaming for a bigger bike than a Moto3 machine to show its full potential, and he’ll no doubt be grateful to leave a series that has more results Talent can be dictated by timing and slipstream rather than slipstream.
It will still be a big step for Binder, but as long as he doesn’t dump him too often and undoubtedly follow his brother’s instructions, if his expectations are modest, he has a chance of surpassing them.