Binder becomes the king of Moto3

SA’s Brad Binder climbed through the field to claim the Moto3 world title at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain on Sunday.

Spaniard Jorge Navarro edged out Binder, 21, to victory on the finish line, but he got the second place he needed to seal the championship with four races still to go.

“Right now it doesn’t feel real yet,” said Binder.

“It came down to the final lap. Today we lost the battle but we won the war.”

Binder, on a KTM, qualified down in seventh, but quickly moved to the front of the race before becoming embroiled in a fight with Honda pair Navarro and Enea Bastianini for the win.

Italian Bastianini led until the final corner, but was swamped by Navarro and Binder with both celebrating as they crossed the line.

Binder, who has won five races this season, extended his championship lead to 106 points with just 100 left to race for. He becomes the first South African to claim a world title since Jon Ekerold in the now defunct 350cc category in 1980.

Navarro leapfrogs Bastianini into second in the championship standings thanks to his second win of the season.

Later on Sunday, Honda’s Marc Marquez ended MotoGP’s streak of eight different winners and moved a big step closer to taking his third world title with victory. The Spaniard, who now has a 52-point advantage over Yamaha’s Italian Valentino Rossi with four races remaining, started on pole but almost fell on the third lap before coming back through the field from fifth.

“I started not so good but on the third lap I attacked because I know that my rhythm was better ... but I did a mistake. When I was leading I nearly lost the front,” said Marquez of his third lap wobble. “When I overtook Valentino I pushed two laps and then when I saw the distance was quite enough I just tried to keep the rhythm ... Rossi was gaining points and now we stop and this is good,” said the Spaniard, who set the fastest race lap.

Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha’s reigning world champion, finished second.

Marquez now has 248 points to Rossi’s 196 and, with 25 points for a victory, he is on course to wrap up the championship with two races to spare at Australia’s Phillip Island track on Oct 23.