Binder: “I felt sorry for Martin, he dropped like a stone”

In Saturday’s Australian MotoGP Martin made a bold move whilst fighting for the title, which was to sit the soft rear tyre when only two others opted for the same.

With a drop in performance expected, Martin built an early lead and looked set to claim victory until the final few laps.

• Zarco: Maiden MotoGP win “was a big feeling of release in my body” 
• Marc Marquez: “I will have doubts until I try the Ducati”

Binder, who was second for much of the race, was eventually pushed out of the podium place when he was overtaken by Johann Zarco.

But the KTM rider wasn’t displeased with his P4 performance, after again finishing as the best non-Ducati rider.

“Overall, it was a really good day,” said Binder. “Unfortunately the last three laps weren’t that great. Apart from that it was good. 

“It was my best qualifying in MotoGP and at the start I was really fast. I rode the bike well and did well to protect the tyre. 

“I was maybe being a little bit too cautious in the last sector trying to conserve the tyre. When Di Gia came past me I realised I was losing a lot of time there. 

“But once I fixed that I was a lot more competitive again. Unfortunately, when Zarco passed me I went from second to the back of the group and couldn’t find my way back through. 

“It was a little bit tricky after that but I’m happy to have had a strong race. Much better than the last two and I learnt a lot.”

Binder also said post-race that he felt sorry for Martin after the Spaniard led the whole race, only to lose four places on the final lap. 

Binder added: “I could see him coming back towards us and was focusing in front and not behind me. 

“He did a great job to push the soft that deep into the race with that pace. It was really impressive. 

“I feel a bit sorry for him because he dropped like a stone after leading the whole race.”