MotoGP

KTM’s Binder takes remarkable slicks-in-wet MotoGP win

by Matt Beer
4 min read

Brad Binder gave KTM an astonishing home MotoGP victory in the Austrian Grand Prix by staying out on slicks in increasing rain.

Binder finished at a virtual walking pace, but was still 13s clear of the best of the erstwhile leaders who had come in for wet tyres.

The threat of rain had loomed throughout the race, with lightning in the distance and an early shower hinting at what was to come.

Francesco Bagnaia led the majority of the event for Ducati, though polesitter Jorge Martin and championship leader Fabio Quartararo both nosed ahead for brief periods as a 10-bike lead train developed – Quartararo pulling off some astonishing moves to make up for his Yamaha’s lack of straightline speed with bold passing under braking and in fast corners.

Bagnaia, Quartararo and Marc Marquez made a slight break in the middle of the race, with Martin lurking just behind and Johann Zarco following until he crashed at the penultimate corner on lap 18.

An early shower didn’t amount to anything, but then rain began to fall again heading into the closing stages.

Jack Miller and Alex Rins dived into the pits from ninth and 10th places on lap 23 of 28 to change to wets, a move that was slightly premature at that point.

As the rain increased, Bagnaia, Marquez and Quartararo were joined at the front by Martin, Joan Mir and Binder in a brilliant six-way lead battle, and Marquez edged into the lead out of the first corner.

All of that pack bar Binder then pitted for wets with three laps to go, with the KTM rider one of nine who decided to try to brave it out on slicks as the track got wetter and wetter.

While Marquez crashed at the first corner, even after changing bikes, Bagnaia and Martin emerged at the front of the group on wets and began scorching through those teetering around the lap on slicks still.

But Binder handled the conditions incredibly, crossing the line so far ahead that he was able to pick up a final-lap track limits penalty and still win by 10s over Bagnaia and Martin.

Mir reached fourth, while Luca Marini and Iker Lecuona hung in there on slicks to complete the top six.

Quartararo lost ground going wide at Turn 1 just as Marquez crashed and finished seventh.

Valentino Rossi stayed on slicks and briefly looked like he might steal a podium before falling back to eighth ahead of fellow slicks runners Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro.

Miller and Rins’ early bike swaps left them 11th and 14th, sandwiching Danilo Petrucci and Takaaki Nakagami, with Marquez remounting to take the final point.

Binder’s team-mate Miguel Oliveira was a top 10 runner for much of the race but crashed just as the main rain shower began.

Race Results

Pos Name Team Bike Laps Laps Led Total Time Fastest Lap Pitstops Pts
1 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 28 4 40m46.928s 1m24.655s 0 25
2 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 28 23 +9.991s 1m24.479s 1 20
3 Jorge Martin Pramac Racing Ducati 28 0 +11.57s 1m24.502s 1 16
4 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 28 0 +12.623s 1m24.573s 1 13
5 Luca Marini SKY VR46 Avintia Team Ducati 28 0 +14.831s 1m24.919s 0 11
6 Iker Lecuona Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 28 0 +14.952s 1m24.81s 0 10
7 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 28 1 +16.65s 1m24.451s 1 9
8 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 28 0 +17.15s 1m24.987s 0 8
9 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda 28 0 +17.692s 1m24.924s 0 7
10 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 28 0 +18.27s 1m24.529s 0 6
11 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 28 0 +25.144s 1m24.723s 1 5
12 Danilo Petrucci Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 28 0 +25.193s 1m25.332s 0 4
13 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 28 0 +25.603s 1m24.814s 0 3
14 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 28 0 +30.642s 1m24.552s 1 2
15 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda 28 0 +35.459s 1m24.474s 1 1
16 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda 28 0 +40.384s 1m24.946s 1 0
17 Cal Crutchlow Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 28 0 +52.95s 1m25.43s 1 0
Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 22 0 DNF 1m24.612s 0 0
Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati 18 0 DNF 1m24.543s 0 0
Enea Bastianini Avintia Esponsorama Racing Ducati 6 0 DNF 1m24.758s 0 0
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