Binder's fighting spirit wins over Petronas Sprinta Racing
KUALA LUMPUR: The fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude shown by South African rider Darryn Binder in several races in the Moto3 category of this season's MotoGP season are the main reasons why Petronas Sprinta Racing decided to offer him a one-year contract, said team principal Datuk Razlan Razali.
Petronas Sprinta Racing had announced last month that Binder would be joining them for the 2021 Moto3 season, replacing national ace Khairul Idham Pawi (Super KIP), whose contract was not extended following his poor performance this season.
Razlan revealed that the team's management was impressed with the attitude shown by Binder, of team CIP Green Power, for always fighting hard for a podium finish despite not doing well in qualifying.
“Initially, he crashed quite frequently as he chased for a podium finish, but now you can see he already has two podium finishes.
“With such an attitude, we felt that he would be a good addition to our team and made an early decision to secure his services for next season because I am sure many other teams would want him as well,” Razlan told Bernama recently.
Binder has performed consistently so far this season, winning the Catalunya GP at the Catalunya-Barcelona Circuit as well as finishing second in the Aragon GP at the Aragon Circuit, both in Spain, recently.
Razlan also explained that the management only offered the 22-year-old Binder a oneyear contract following the topsy-turvy performances of their two riders -- Scotland's John McPhee and national ace Khairul Idham Pawi (Super KIP) -- this season.
Razlan said that according to agreement, the team would let Binder ride for the Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto2 team in the 2022 season provided he finished in the top three in Moto3 next season.