When leading the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix, aiming for a possible win, Brad Binder missed a braking point and ran wide. The Red Bull KTM rider lost several positions but managed to recover to fourth place. Later, due to a penalty imposed on Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati), he moved up to third after the race.
The South African rider explained what happened when he went wide: ‘It was the same as Saturday: when I got up in front, the front tyre went cold. I started to have a lot of chatter on the right side, which is normally an indicator for us. Just rolling off, before I even touched the front brake, the front washed in turn 11, so I was really, really lucky to stay on to be honest – eventhough I had to do this silly lap and lose a lot of time because the paint [on the asphalt] is so slippery if you go wide. Anyway, it is what it is. I think we were doing well up until then. I was really lucky not to land in the gravel. So, OK, anything from this is a bonus’.
Asked if his incident was a consequence of the low temperatures due to the late hour, Binder replied: ‘Who knows, to be honest? I think of course it’s almost the same at the end of the day. But it’s late here in Valencia to winter and racing is not really a sport for winter. This is what it is, but doesn’t go well. It’s a little bit tricky for sure, but at the end of the day it’s the same for everybody, so it’s something we need to manage’.