Brad Binder after losing out to Pedro Acosta: ‘He was rolling, you can see how good he is’

Brad Binder had Pedro Acosta for company early on in the grand prix at Portimao, but it wasn’t long before the MotoGP rookie left Binder in his wake.

Acosta went on to pass Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, while Binder instead took advantage of their collision to gain a positions. 

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Speaking about his race, Binder admitted it was a tough weekend throughout as he never felt comfortable pushing hard.

“To be honest it was a really tough weekend,” began Binder. “I had a bit of a struggle and every time I thought we were getting it right, I never had the confidence to really push on.

“Every time I tried to push on I would lose the front. When I picked up the gas I had a lot of pumping. 

“I didn’t quite find the feeling I normally have so it was a tough weekend.

“We had a ton of help in the race but to finish fourth was really lucky. This was a terrible weekend but it’s not too bad.

“I was lucky. The guys in front of me went down but I think that the big thing was that it was a super tough weekend. I think we’re not doing too bad.”

When discussing his battle with Acosta, Binder also gave the Spanish teenager huge praise after it became very clear that Acosta was the quickest KTM in the race.

Although they’re not teammates, riding the same bike is something Binder feels he can learn from, even with his much greater level of experience over Acosta.

Binder said: “When he passed me he was rolling. He is really special.

“When you watch him you can see how good he is. The way he can control the bike, carries a lot of corner speed, he is a real class act.

“Hats off to him. He really deserved a podium. I’ve always had good teammates and teammates that pushed me.

“You can look at it as a blessing or a curse, but it’s always been good for me.

“I think together we can keep pushing and try to get this project going forward.”