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• Brad Binder took his first MotoGP win on Sunday (9 August).
• Binder is the first rookie after Marc Marquez to win a race in the premier class since 2013.
• Binder is from Krugersdorp, South Africa.
• For more motoring stories, go to www.Wheels24.co.za
South African MotoGP rider, Brad Binder, took his first win in the premier class yesterday (9 August 2020). Binder, having started the Czech Grand Prix in Brno in seventh place, moved up to fifth place by the end of the first lap, and third by the end of the second.
It was a timeous race, with each on-track action being timed perfectly. With about ten of the 21 laps remaining, Binder made the deciding move on Franco Morbidelli for first place. From there, Binder pulled out a gap over his rivals and won with more than five seconds in hand.
Interestingly, when Binder moved to Moto2 from Moto3 a few years ago, it took him more than a year to register his first win in the category. In 2020, in just his third race in MotoGP, he took his first victory.
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Binder revealed: "I have been dreaming about this day since I was a little boy, and gosh, it came true. I really wish my parents were here because they were the ones that backed me from the beginning.
"I can't thank my team enough. They put an absolutely insane motorbike underneath me this weekend. Thank you to everyone at home for always supporting me. I hope that this is the start of many more."
Bright future
If you have been following Binder's career for the last decade or so, one will pick up on an obvious pattern: he tends to win in all the categories he competes in. In Moto3 and Moto2, he was competitive and registered multiple wins to his name. And while the first two races of the 2020 season didn't go exactly to plan, he made up for any shortcoming by winning the third one in Brno.
What Binder knew coming into MotoGP was that it would not be an easy task making your mark, but his maturity and control on the back of his iron horse impressed from the first race. Watching him ride, you just got the idea that he was made for the top class, and that a win is definitely part of his career. But just how quickly that win would come, no one could have predicted.
READ: A new star is born! SA's Brad Binder storms to his maiden win in Czech MotoGP
Last year, the Red Bull KTM team wasn't all too competitive, but they've improved the bike in leaps and bounds to the machines used in 2020. With the KTM immensely impressive under braking and now putting its power down a lot easier, it would be unwise to discount Binder and team mate Pol Espargo for more podium finishes and race wins this year.
But for Binder, yesterday's win would have been that much sweeter, because 1) it was KTM's first win in MotoGP and 2) it was the first time the South African anthem was played at a MotoGP race.
The Krugersdorp-born Binder will celebrate his 25th birthday on Tuesday, 11 August.
