Phillip Island, Australia: Forecasts for the weekend forced the organisers to swap the races around and bring forward Sunday’s feature race to Saturday. The top five were separated by little over one second at the chequered after a few dramatic final laps of the Australian GP.
Binder and Miller both got away well at the start of the race, quickly snapping up 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Despite the strong start Miller couldn’t hold off Championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia, and was soon dropping back into the reaches of the chasing pack.
Binder fought doggedly to hold onto second place. With 9 laps remaining, he was passed by Fabio Di Giannantonio but kept sustained pressure chasing behind. This battle intensified, as Zarco and Bagnaia joined the battle for second.
With six laps remaining, there was a gap of over 2.5 seconds between the chasing four riders and race leader Jorge Martin. The pack continued to reduce the gap setting up a dramatic finish as Martin’s tyres continued to wear.
Binder reclaimed second place on the following tour and led the charge for Martin. However, with two laps to go and the chasing group of riders bunched up tightly, Johann Zarco cut up the inside and Binder had to concede the position to Martin’s teammate. The move from Zarco compromised Brad Binder’s line and allowed Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia to pass the South African on the same corner, dropping him back to fifth position.
The drama between the chasing pack continued all the way up to the chequered flag and at the final corner, Binder managed to snatch fourth position from Martin. Jack Miller, meanwhile came home to take seventh place at his home race.
Despite not getting out onto track on Sunday for the Sprint race, Jack Miller, paid tribute to the fans saying, “We had good weather for the last two days but full respect to the fans – some of the best in the world – for coming out here today. I’m sorry we did not get to race for them. I think we should have done some laps. It’s windy but you have to adapt to the conditions. Hopefully next year.”
Francesco Guidotti, the Red Bull KTM Team Manager, summed up the conditions, “Unfortunately we knew since yesterday that the conditions would get worse and that’s why it was good to have the GP on Saturday. We are so sorry for the fans and it was a shame for Jack, but safety must come first and the Moto2 race was red-flagged for the wind and I think it was the right decision for the MotoGP Sprint.”
The heat and humidity of the Chang International Circuit awaits for round seventeen next weekend and the last fixture of the latest MotoGP triple header.