Binder wins Argentina MotoGP sprint thriller from 15th on grid

KTM rider Brad Binder produced a spectacular performance in MotoGP’s Argentina sprint to win the half-length race from 15th on the grid.

Binder needed just under three laps to work his way to the front, aided by a fantastic start and an ultra-aggressive inside line through Turn 1, and then survived late pressure from Marco Bezzecchi for the win.

The fast-starting Franco Morbidelli briefly led at Turn 1 already despite starting on the second row, having used his great launch to lunge down the inside of the corner – and while Gresini Ducati’s poleman Alex Marquez retook the lead on exit, Morbidelli did get the momentum on exit to consolidate second place.

That second soon became first as the Yamaha man found a way past Marquez later into the lap, with any hope of an attempted retaliation for the poleman compromised when he – having switched to a medium front late on on the grid – got a massive shake through Turn 4 and fell back to fourth.

You've got to be joking 😅 @BradBinder_33 👏👏👏#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/7NnCCx5M4o

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 1, 2023

That meant Binder, who had made up a remarkable 12 places on the opening lap, was now Morbidelli’s nearest pursuer, and on the third lap he set up a move for the lead through the Turns 9-10 section, ultimately sliding down the inside of Morbidelli at the sweeping Turn 11.

This is unreal from @BradBinder_33! 🙌

This is already an early contender for ride of the season! 🔥#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/1aottJDWLe

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 1, 2023

The move placed Binder at the front of a nine-bike lead pack, with extremely aggressive battles unfolding corner after corner behind him, although Morbidelli and VR46 Ducati rider Luca Marini did establish themselves in second or third.

As Marini scrambled to find a way past his fellow Valentino Rossi protege Morbidelli, Binder began to make a real break for it when the 12-lapper entered its second half – and when Marini successfully lunged down the inside of Morbidelli at Turn 9, Binder was already seven tenths of a second clear.

With three laps to go, that gap looked unassailable – appearing doubly so when Marini instead came under pressure from team-mate Bezzecchi, who he had made contact with earlier in the race and who muscled his way past Morbidelli a few corners after Marini did.

Yet Bezzecchi then made quick work of his VR46 stablemate, and closed to just four tenths off Binder starting the final lap. It took just one sector for that gap to be halved, Bezzecchi already right there to size up a move by Turn 5 but proving just a bit too far away.

And that was pretty much as close as he’d get, Binder soaking up the pressure over the rest of the lap to finish 0.072s clear of Bezzecchi, with Marini rounding out the podium.

Morbidelli dropped off at the end but held on to fourth, his best finish in any MotoGP race since May 2021, with his defence allowing Marquez to reclaim fifth place from Ducati’s championship leader Pecco Bagnaia.

Maverick Vinales was Aprilia’s sole points-scorer in seventh in a very disappointing race for the marque, which had looked the benchmark for most of the weekend. Vinales and team-mate Aleix Espargaro spent much of the race in battle with one another, and countless other bikes, before Espargaro crashed out at speed, unhurt.

DISASTER! 😱

Last year's winner @AleixEspargaro is OUT! 💥#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/4CyqBrEArA

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 1, 2023

Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) defeated Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) in a nearly race-long battle for eighth place, with Quartararo picking up the final point ahead of Binder’s 10th-placed KTM team-mate Jack Miller.

No Hondas scored, and the team’s race was soured further by a nasty-looking crash for Joan Mir on the opening lap.

Sprint Qualifying Results