Brad bullish after boost at Portimao

BRAD Binder is becoming something of a recovery specialist in race conditions and on Sunday even received a nod of comparison to legend Valentino Rossi by the commentators for his ability to seize the best of a desperate situation and make an impact on the field.

Starting from 15th on the grid in the third MotoGP race of the season, the 25-year-old managed to eke out the best from his Red Bull KTM at the Portuguese GP to claim a hardfought and somewhat unexpected fifth-place finish.

After a tumultuous first two races at the Losail International Circuit in Bahrain, it was an excellent piece of riding that showed the hard work the team is putting into making their bike competitive is paying off.

Binder was a second faster than his expected race-time projection, his fastest lap of the race coming on the 17th when he clocked in at one minute 39.850 seconds, 0.5sec slower than the fastest lap of the GP set by Spaniard Alex Rins. He clocked an average race speed of 164.4km/h – not too shabby when compared to the 164.8km/h recorded by eventual winner Fabio Quartararo of France.

The biggest concern for the 2020 Rookie of the Year, however, will be his continued inability to set a competitive qualifying time, and one would expect that if only he could get closer to the front of the field, he certainly has the machinery to claim a podium finish. He admitted as much while commenting on his efforts when speaking to motogp.com after the race this past weekend.

“It’s a pity I can't find my Sunday form on Friday; that would make life a whole lot easier,” he said.

“(Sunday) was good. I had a really good start, from 15th to eighth, I think, in the first corner. I tried my hardest to stay with the guys at the beginning but it was really difficult. Eventually, I just tried to settle down into my own rhythm and just make the best of it and I was super happy to almost stay with this podium group and in the last few laps I managed to catch up a little bit. I was getting a bit excited, thinking maybe I was in for a shot, but I couldn’t close the gap completely.”

Nevertheless, Binder should be pleased with his efforts. As the race came to a close, he found himself within touching distance of the leading group, and could have made a fight of it if there were a handful of laps more in the race.