Sunday 3 November 2019 – not a bad day to be a South African sports fan. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) scored his second consecutive victory of the season in Malaysia, while South Africa became Rugby champions of the world in Japan.
That was Binder’s fourth win of the 2019 season and, although it wasn’t enough to stop second place finisher Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) from claiming the Moto2™ World Championship, it was another indication of the sheer class that is Brad Binder. But this season hasn’t always been high hopes and bubbly spraying for KTM and the 2016 Moto3™ Champion.
KTM’s well-documented struggles in the opening exchanges of the 2019 Championship saw Binder fail to see the podium until Assen - Round 8. However, from there, Binder’s form has been sensational. Podiums in Germany, Great Britain and Thailand have been coupled with victories in Austria, Aragon, Australia and Malaysia as Binder now sits P2 in the Championship. Speaking after the race at the Sepang International Circuit, the 24-year-old was beaming. And understandably so. The 2020 factory KTM rider could hardly believe how far he and the team have come from their opening part of the season troubles, as he now aims to finish his Moto2™ career on a high in Valencia before hopping onto the RC16.
“Yeah we did everything that we had to do. Everything that we had in our power we accomplished today,” explained Binder, who missed out on taking the title race down to the final round by just three points. “We knew it was a big outside chance coming up, it would have to be a lot of bad luck for the other guys so at the end of the day we did our job and that’s that. To walk away from today with the win was an incredible feeling and we’re just going to keep on building for the future.
“From where we started… to be where we are is a gift because the way we started, well, we were nowhere. So even to be in with a shot this late in the season is amazing. But, you know, we’re feeling really, really strong. I know we’re making good steps forward so one more race in Moto2 and I hope to end on a positive note.”
Can Binder take win number five of the season to bow out of the Moto2™ class in style, before beginning his premier class adventure with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing? You’d be a brave person betting against the number 41.