Brad Binder: “Seventh as good as it was going to get” at Argentine MotoGP

Despite barely riding from Saturday morning’s qualifying until the Sunday afternoon grand prix, Brad Binder was again the top KTM across the finish line with seventh in the Argentine MotoGP.

The South African, eighth at the Thai season opener, had crashed on lap one of the Saturday afternoon Sprint after contact from Franco Morbidelli.

Binder then managed just three laps in a ‘difficult’ Sunday morning warm-up, but a strong launch from the grid saw him seventh on the opening lap of the grand prix.

A pass on Fabio di Giannantonio then put Binder into sixth, where he remained until the RC16’s current Achilles heel, a lack of rear grip, kicked in.

di Giannantonio moved back ahead but Binder was able to hold off rookie Ai Ogura - later disqualified for a technical infringement - and remain clear of team-mate Pedro Acosta.

“It’s great to get some points today, especially after [the Sprint],” said Binder, who won the previous Saturday race at Termas in 2023. 

“I had a bit of a difficult warm-up as well. So I didn’t ride too much since qualifying!

“I got a decent start and tried to go with the guys at the beginning. I knew pretty well that once the tyre dropped it’d be difficult to hang.

“But I really felt like I did my best from lap one to the end. I tried to make zero mistakes and just stay as consistent as possible.

“Unfortunately, that was it, the seventh place was as good as it was going to get for us today and I tried my best. That’s about all I can say.

“We are strong in braking and entry but we need to find more grip on the edge of the rear tyre. 

"Once we do that, life will get much easier for us.”

Binder’s consistency means he also holds seventh in the early world championship standings.