JOHANNESBURG - Jerez will not evoke any fond memories in the future for Brad Binder after a disastrous Spanish GP for the South African rider this past weekend.
Starting from 11th on the grid, and after topping the charts during first free-practice, there was a real belief that Binder and his Red Bull KTM would be in the hunt for a podium. That result was not to be as the 25-year-old crashed on the second lap of the MotoGP race, demoting him to the back of the field, and then retired from the race on lap 13 after another wipe-out.
It was a disappointing conclusion to a could-eh, would-eh, should-eh done better scenario, and Binder revealed after the race why it all went so wrong.
Said Binder: “I felt great in warm-up (on Sunday morning) and then made a good start in the race but unfortunately going into Turn 2 on the second lap it looks like I was a bit too relaxed, got on the brakes at the wrong moment and when I tipped into the corner the front just washed out.
"It’s a good lesson" he continued, "for the future to ignore where you are in the pack and keep your marks.
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"It’s also disappointing because I had good pace all weekend and I felt good. We could have done a decent job (on Sunday). Sorry to the team because they worked well all through the GP and they deserved a result.”
Binder's disappointment also seeped through into the entire team, with KTM Red Bull race manager Mike Leitner echoing similar regrets after an underwhelming race weekend, which saw their other rider, Miguel Oliveira only finish 11th.
"We cannot be happy with 11th position because we had some expectations after Brad’s good qualification yesterday and consistency in warm-up," said Leitner.
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"We saw a lot of crashes here and unfortunately Brad had one on the second lap, so his race was more or less over then. It was hard for Miguel to make much time from 16th on the grid and he was in traffic for too long.
"We have to accept 11th but we can see how high the competition is and now we need to work on the test here (on Monday) to find something extra with the bike. It was positive that three of our bikes (Oliveira; and KTM Tech 3 riders Danilo Pertucci and Iker Lucuona) finished in the points even if it is not our goal just to be part of the pack.
"The target now has to be better at Le Mans,” said Leitner.
As pointed out by Leitner, the French GP is next on the MotoGP calendar on May 16, and it is a track that Binder does have fond memories of. The South African has placed himself on two podiums at Le Mans, including a top step victory - albeit in Moto2. Last year, in his rookie outing in MotoGP, he placed 12th.
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Meanwhile, younger brother Darryn, finished 22nd in the Moto3 category in Spain. Unlike Brad's self-inflicted calamity, it was not of the Petronas Sprinta Racing rider's own making. Darryn was in prime position in the final lap of the race to push for a third podium of the season, but the over-eagerness, and dangerous lunge of Turkish rider Deniz Oncu in the final moments of the event, cost Darryn dearly, resulting in a wipe-out that ended any thoughts of a top three finish.
Darryn is now sixth in the Moto3 world riders' championship standings on 36 points - a whopping 59 points behind teenage sensation Pedro Acosta on 96 points, while Brad is 10th in the elite category on 21 points, 44 points behind Franscesco Bagnaia.
*Quotes courtesy of Flume Digital Marketing and PR