Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) leaves the intermediate class on a high after taking his fifth win of the year - and third in a row - in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. The South African played his cards to perfection to out-duel his main rival for second overall, Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), with the Swiss rider forced to settle for second on the day and third in the standings. Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) completed the podium on true home turf, the Valencian taking his eighth podium of the year.
KTM bid farewell to #Moto2 ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) November 17, 2019
And what better way to do it than, than to wave goodbye to the intermediate class from the top step of the podium! ????#ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/aJGGDbkxWu
Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took the holeshot from second on the grid, with Lüthi up into second and Binder making a storming getaway to soon attack Navarro for third. Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Temporary Forward) was one big loser off the front row as he got shuffled down to sixth, but the field remained tightly packed for the first lap and for many it stayed that way to the end – including the battle at the front.
Two men soon emerged in the early stages, however: Binder and Lüthi. The duo, fighting over second overall in the standings, didn’t take long to take their duel to the front, with Navarro the man on the chase. A couple of laps later the gaps between the front three were pretty equal though, with Martin left heading the fight for fourth ahead of Manzi.
Lüthi, however, was turning the screw, and the Swiss rider was able to start pulling out another gap. But Binder was able to respond, and not too long after Navarro and Manzi, who had dispatched Martin, had closed in too. It was a concertina between two duels and a four-way fight, but Binder had a plan.
Leaving it late, the South African pounced to perfection with a couple of laps to go, then pulling the pin and blasting away to give himself a gap. Uncatchable, Binder crossed the line seven tenths clear for his fifth win of the season.
100 Grands Prix marked with a podium! ????@Jorge_Navarro9 rounds off an impressive season with third place! ????#ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/YXp8NhOU7N
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) November 17, 2019
He also, therefore, beat Lüthi both on the day and in the standings overall as the Swiss rider was forced to settle for second, able to stay clear of the clutches of Navarro and Manzi. The duel got even closer at the final corner as the Italian looked to be sizing up and move and then tried to out-drag the Speed Up to the line, but it wasn’t to be and Navarro took yet another podium to end his season on a high on home turf.
Martin was fifth as he managed to fend off an Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) on the charge, with Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) not too far off the two ahead of him either and taking P7. Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) finished off his season in eighth, just pipping Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up). But the number 21 wrapped up Rookie of the Year with ninth place, with closest rival Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) in P13.
Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completed the top ten, with a bit of breathing space back to Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2). Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Temporary Forward) was 13th and made it two MVs in the points, ahead of Bastianini.
Jake Dixon took fourteenth and rounded out his time with the Inde Angel Nieto Team with his best weekend of the season, with Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) completing the points.
Newly-crowned Champion Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), meanwhile, made a great start to move up into fifth by the latter stages of the race, but disaster struck for the number 73 at Turn 11 as he slid out of contention.
Job done for @alexmarquez73 ✅
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) November 17, 2019
He lights the fireworks to bring 2019 to an end ????#ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/2cHD2MBG9d
That’s it from 2019 and an incredible season of racing in the intermediate class. You could say it was a triumph, and it certainly was for the top three: Marquez’ points advantage was just three after the final race, with Binder’s brilliant win securing him second overall. Lüthi’s podium assured him third, with Navarro’s doing the same for fourth. Now it’s time to rest, test and repeat – so make sure to join us again for 2020.
Top 10:
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.735
3. Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 1.045
4. Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Temporary Forward) + 1.185
5. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 8.066
6. Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) + 8.311
7. Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 9.922
8. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 11.085
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 11.739
10. Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 12.362
Click here for the full results!