Binder: Win only a matter of time

Brad Binder predicts that his next MotoGP win is only a matter of time after two stunning performances at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix at the weekend.

The Red Bull KTM man finished second in both the sprint and the main race in Doha to trail world champion Pecco Bagnaia by just two points in the title race.

Bagnaia lead the way on 31 points, followed by Binder (29) and Jorge Martin (28), who beat the South African by 0.548 seconds in the sprint race on Saturday.

Starting from fourth on the grid, a good start helped Binder move up to second behind Martin during the main race on Sunday.

Bagnaia came storming past both and opened up a gap at the front, leaving Binder and Martin to fight it out for second. The two swopped placed several times during an enthralling battle before Binder made second place his own.

He tried closing the gap on Bagnaia, but the wily Ducati rider responded every time on his way to a comfortable 1.329-second win.

“Super-happy to be leaving with second place again. I thought I might have had a bit to catch up and take the lead but every time I got a little closer then the gap stretched again,” Binder told the KTM website. “I think winning again is only a matter of time.”

Binder won two sprint races last season, but his duck in main races stretches back to 2021 when he recorded the second of his two MotoGP main race wins in Austria. He has stood on the main race podium nine times since then, of which six were runners-up finishes.

And judging by KTM’s race pace in Qatar, the Austrian outfit will be confident that Binder will have a real chance against the Ducatis this season in his quest to become the first KTM rider to win the world championship.

While Binder’s team-mate Jack Miller failed twice in Qatar, KTM Tech3 rider Pedro Acosta also showed what the RC16 is capable of in finishing eighth and ninth during an impressive premier class debut.

“This isn’t one of our best tracks – or hasn’t been – so to be second twice gives us a lot of confidence for the future,” said Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s team manager.

Brad’s brother Darryn finished 18th in Moto2 in Doha, failing to score points after experiencing tyre ware.