BRAD BINDER’S BIG RISK TURNS INTO GREAT REWARD
South African MotoGP rider Brad Binder took a gamble and it paid off. When the rain started to come down at the recent Austrian Grand Prix, the KTM driver decided to stay with his slick tyres on a very wet Red Bull Racing track in Spielberg.
The moment the rain started to pour down, the top five riders decided to enter the pits to switch to bikes with wet tyres. While it seemed like the obvious choice, the 6th place Binder decided to do the opposite.
With three laps still to go, he went at it with his slick tyres even though the track was incredibly wet and slippery. The end result? His second MotoGP title.
After the race, Binder admitted that it was a tough race to the finish.
“I took a big gamble by not changing bikes as the rain made it difficult to manoeuvre through the slippery track. With four laps to go, I could see the other racers come in, so I had to try to finish, which proved fruitful with the win.”
With a South African race not being scheduled in the near future, this was a very special win for KTM and Red Bull.
“(I’m) super happy to come with the win, especially here in Austria which is Red Bull and KTM’s home ground Grand Prix. It’s the closes thing that I have to home ground Grand Prix, so hats off to the team,” Binder said.
Image credit: Autosport