Phillip Island, Australia – The latest round featured the opening stint for yet another triple header of the MotoGP World Championship. Swirling winds of spring weather in Australia made navigating the circuit a tricky challenge for Brad Binder and home hero, Jack Miller.
Saturday’s race was dry which was a rarity during this fixture in recent years. It’s become known for its frequent rain showers and strong winds.
As the light went out, Brad Binder made an excellent start. He darted his way up the order from 11th on the grid, typical of the RC16’s power off the line, pushing through to 5th by the first corner.
Meanwhile, Jack Miller, starting in 16th didn’t get away well through no fault of his own. He dropped back to 19th after the first few corners after Alex Marquez pushed them both wide. However, on the opening lap he wasted no time and working his way back past other riders and was ahead of his starting position by the second lap.
Back at the front Brad had risen to fourth after a mistake by Morbidelli, but it was quickly snatched back by the Italian. Marc Marquez was also in the hunt for Binder’s position, but while Bezzecchi was forced to take a long lap penalty before crashing out shortly after leaving Binder in 5th after the pass from Marquez.
The home favourite, Jack Miller had made excellent progress up to 11th by the midway point of the race. As the race wore on, it became clear that Binder had to manage his tyres to go the full distance and he in doing so he came home in 7th. Miller managed to come home in the points too, finishing in 11th.
Following the race, Brad Binder said “I tried my best from the beginning until the end. This morning we put in a different aero package for the dry conditions and the bike was turning a bit better.
“That was good and positive for the race and we could try to carry a bit more speed. I managed to stick with the boys for a while but when they dropped the pace at the end I couldn’t quite go with them. We learned a lot this weekend and we made another small step but obviously we need more to get closer.”
Following his home race, Jack Miller said: “I got a mega jump in the inside I would have nearly been top six into Turn 1 but Alex Marquez turned in on me and then we were hooked and went to last position.
“I fought my way back but with three to go the front went and then you had to start relying on the rear to bring her round. I was doing what I could to battle with those boys but couldn’t do much more. The pace was decent but it would have been nice to have built on that start.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will be back in action next week in Thailand on the 27th of October.