Binder brothers battle to make their mark at Le Mans

RAIN played havoc in the early stages of the MotoGP category of the French Grand Prix yesterday at Le Mans, with the riders pitting to change to their wet-tyre set-ups, with several crashes resulting, but unfortunately the chaos was not enough to help Brad Binder break into the top 10.

Binder had another weekend to forget on his KTM, starting 21nd on the grid after a poor qualifying session.

With the white flags calling in the riders as early as the fourth lap, there was an opportunity for the South African to take advantage of the change-up and the wet conditions, and make something of a terrible weekend for the team.

The 25-year-old did well to stay on his bike as his counterparts battled to tame the conditions, but could only finish in 13th place.

His teammate Miguel Oliveira capped a horrible GP for KTM by crashing out.

The race belonged to Ducati’s Jack Miller, who put in a brilliant ride in tough conditions to claim his second successive victory of the season.

What made it all the more impressive is that he grabbed the initiative, and the lead, after two long-lap penalties for exceeding the speed limit in the pitlane.

Miller was followed by Johann Zarco in second and world championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing race for younger brother Darryn Binder in the Moto3 category, as he finished 20th.

It is the third race that Binder was unable to score any points, and which further strengthened the riders’ championship stranglehold of 16-year-old Pedro Acosta, who finished an impressive eighth after starting at the back of the grid, and also after recovering from his own crash in the first five laps.

The race was won by a masterclass performance from Sergio Garcia of Aspar, who held Filip Salac on a Honda at bay in a two-rider duel that dominated the GP.

The last podium place was snatched by Riccardo Rossi, who held his nerve in the final laps while under increased pressure from John McPhee.