Brad Binder’s verdict on track limit violation and epic three-way scrap
Only 0.253s separated winner Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia and Binder at the chequered flag after an exhilarating battle between them.
The KTM rider was forced to settle for third but played his part in a fantastic showdown against the two championship contenders.
“I woke up this morning, saw South Africa win the Rugby World Cup, felt win-or-bust today,” Binder smiled in Buriram.
“I gave it my absolute best. Jorge did an unreal job. I tried to stay behind him and maintain the tyre, and did exactly that. As soon as I passed him, it dropped.
“It was tricky. On the last lap I said ‘if I am super close, I’ll put my wheel there and make it happen!’
“Going through 4, I was hotter than the last lap, went wide and touched the green.
“It’s never cool to lose a spot but I’m on the podium. I gave it my all, I cannot complain.
“The biggest thing I noticed? The lap I passed him was fine. It was the next one.
“As soon as I came to the left of the tyre, I would start pumping on the straights. Also, I had big vibration on the rear tyre.
“I realised I’m probably through to the base rubber. From then on, it was just survive and fight with whatever I had.”
Binder explained his thought process during his track limit violation at Turn 4: “I tried to brake late and roll through there.
“When I cracked the gas, I pulled the weight off the front tyre. I tried to square it up but it touched the green.
“Not ideal, of course. I tried to fight anyway, I tried to get past.”
Binder held realistic hopes of winning the Thailand MotoGP when he set his sights on leader Martin, as they thrillingly squabbled over the lead.
“I knew from the previous laps that my best chance was in the third sector because that’s where I had a bit extra,” he said.
“I tried but I touched the green. It wasn’t meant to be.”
The future appears bright for KTM, who have largely established themselves as the closest contenders to the dominant Ducatis this year.
“Things weren’t perfect in the race but I figured out that we’ve got some really strong points to exploit,” Binder said.
“If we can make our weak points a tiny bit stronger, we can be good.”
Binder is fourth in the MotoGP standings with three rounds remaining.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
