Brad Binder (33) of Republic of South Africa and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing during the qualifying of at Ricardo Tormo Circuit on November 13, 2021 in Valencia, Spain.
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto
• Brad Binder pushes the limit to bank 7th place in Valencia sunshine.
• The South African rider also ranked sixth place overall in the championship standings.
• KTM close the book on 2021 with two wins and four podium appearances.
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What a year it has been for South Africa’s MotoGP hero Brad Binder. He has been consistent throughout the year, and while this is only his second season in the premier class, it certainly is a sign of more to come from our local rider.
And, with his younger brother Darryn lining up on the grid for the 2022 season, South Africans have a lot more to write home about for another exciting season.
KTM ended their fifth year in the MotoGP competition with the seventh position in the eighteenth and final round of the world championship in Valencia, and with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s binder securing 6th place in the standings.
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Warm sunshine and cloudless skies graced the last MotoGP race of the year. The Circuito Ricardo Tormo welcomed over 70,000 spectators for the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana and the second event in the space of a week.
Binder was the most advanced KTM rider on the grid, having qualified in 7th position and headed the third row. The South African planted himself into the mid-top ten, where he managed to stay ahead of Enea Bastianini and tried to close the gap to Johann Zarco. By the flag, he was only 1.5 seconds from 6th for his thirteenth top ten finish of the year.
Brad Binder of South Africa and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing looks at the starting grid before the race at Circuito de Jerez on May 02, 2021 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Binder says: “I’m happy with where we finished in the championship, and the race was a lot harder than I expected. I thought I’d be stronger, and, unfortunately, I was missing a little in a few places, and the gap was too much to make up in some corners.
It was a tough race, but I tried my absolute best from lap one to the end. I have to leave here happy because I left it all on the table. It has been my most consistent year and a level-up. I have to thank the team. Even though we had some tough times, they never stopped working. 6th in the championship is good, and now five to go.
Teammate Miguel Oliveira faced some adversity thanks to his grid position of 20th, but the Portuguese rode around a lack of feeling with the front tire to make it to 14th and two points. He was just ahead of Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Iker Lecuona in 15th, while Danilo Petrucci finished an emotional last MotoGP outing in 18th.
2021 action and work end with a final two-day test at the Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto this coming Thursday and Friday, where the two KTM teams will evaluate ideas and components for their 2022 set-up on the RC16s.