Brad Binder becomes second South African in 38 years to win a Moto2 race

By Réhann Coetzee

Brad Binder became the first South Africa since 1980 to win a Motorcycle Grand Prix race in the intermediate class this weekend when he took first place on his Red Bull KTM Ajo race bike at the Sachsenring race track in Germany this weekend.

Kork Ballington was the last South African to manage this in 1980 at the legendary Nürburgring, also in Germany.

Brad Binder managed the win after starting the Moto2 race in tenth position.

“I tried not to do anything crazy at the start, because I knew our rivals would be a little faster than us,” Brad was quoted on his website www.bradbinder41.com.

“Everything went perfectly. I was able to overtake most of the riders on the first laps and then, seeing that I had enough pace, I went after the lead.”

He says that towards the end of the race he had to be careful, because his rear tyre was practically worn out.

“I suffered a lot on the final laps. I controlled the lead, but it was very tough. On the last lap I almost had a high-side at Turn 1. It was amazing to get the victory, and I can’t thank my team enough for their help! We couldn’t have finished this first half of the championship any better!”

Brad Binder was born in 1995 and started his racing career in carts. He became national champion at age eight and started racing on two wheels when he was 10. His breakthrough into international racing came when he was accepted in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2009.

Brad first started riding for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in Moto3 in 2015. In 2016 he became Moto3 world champion while there were still four races left in the season.

The previous South Africans who became world champions are Jon Ekerold who won the 350cc title in 1980 and Kork Ballington who won the 350cc and 250cc titles in 1978 and 1979.

Brad graduated to Moto2 last year and recently renewed his contract with Red Bull KTM Ajo for the 2019 racing season – his fifth with the team.

Photos from www.bradbinder41.com