KTM takes shock first MotoGP win with rookie Binder

MotoGP rookie Brad Binder celebrated a sensational maiden win for himself and KTM in a thrilling Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno.

The 2019 Moto2 runner-up Binder, contesting only his third race in the premier class, charged from seventh on the grid to successfully challenge long-time leader Franco Morbidelli and secure a monumental result for his employer.

Binder had picked up just three points from his first two races in MotoGP, while KTM had only a single previous premier-class podium – secured by Pol Espargaro in the wet in the 2018 Valencia finale.

A slow start from surprise poleman Johann Zarco invited Morbidelli to take the lead into the first corner, with points leader Fabio Quartararo looking to make it a Petronas SRT Yamaha 1-2 but slipping behind a fast-starting Aleix Espargaro after a major shake at Turn 3.

Quartararo spent the opening lap behind Aleix Espargaro, and though he finally got second place back when the Aprilia man ran wide at Turn 1, by then Morbidelli had established a lead of over a second.

The two Yamaha satellite riders maintained the status quo over the next few laps, but Quartararo came under substantial pressure from Binder, the South African rookie’s early charge having included an aggressive overtake for fourth place on works KTM team-mate Pol Espargaro.

The move pushed Espargaro behind Zarco, and the Spaniard needed a few laps to clear the Avintia Ducati with a decisive Turn 3 move – but soon after that was done, he and Zarco made it a four-bike train headed by Quartararo.

On the ninth lap, as Morbidelli began to extend his gap over Quartararo, Binder lunged down the inside of the championship leader to take second place, with Espargaro following suit a few corners later, only to run badly wide at the Turn 13 left-hander and surrender the spot back to Quartararo.

He was then wide again into Turn 1, and as he attempted to retake his line and hug the apex, he was clipped by Zarco’s Ducati and was sent sliding into the gravel.

Zarco was unfazed by the collision and picked off his compatriot Quartararo at the first corner on the subsequent lap, but by then Binder had already broken away and set off after Morbidelli.

With 10 laps to go, the rookie arrived on Morbidelli’s tail, and he made easy work of the leader with a dive down the inside of the long Turn 10 right-hander.

In just a few corners, Binder established a sizable gap between himself and Morbidelli, and it only grew from there for the next few laps, ballooning to an outrageous five seconds by the chequered flag.

A late battle for third unfolded behind the pair, although it did not involve Quartararo, who struggled badly in the second half of the race and lost three places to Alex Rins, Valentino Rossi and Miguel Oliveira in the span of just over a lap.

Suzuki rider Rins then reeled in Zarco, who had been served to force a long-lap penalty for the collision with Pol Espargaro, but the Frenchman managed to narrowly hang in for his first podium as an Avintia Ducati rider.

Rossi settled for fifth as the lead works Yamaha, left to rue a sub-optimal grid position and start, while Oliveira recorded the best finish of Tech3’s tenure as a KTM client so far in sixth.

Quartararo faded to seventh, hanging on to the spot from LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami, who led Honda’s contingent.

Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) beat a fading Aleix Espargaro to ninth over the line by 0.074s, while the leading works Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso was a dispiriting 11th.

It was a miserable race for Rossi’s works Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales, who lost three places from fifth on the grid on the opening race and never found his pace, slumping to a painful 14th at the finish.

Despite their disappointing outings, Quartararo and Vinales retain first and second in the MotoGP standings.

Vinales trails Quartararo by 17 points, with Morbidelli and Dovizioso – tied for third – another 11 points back.

While Binder starred, his two fellow 2020 rookies underwhelmed, with works Honda man Alex Marquez only 15th – albeit comfortably beating Marc Marquez’s stand-in Stefan Bradl – and Iker Lecuona falling early on in a crash that also wiped out Suzuki’s Joan Mir.

Race Results