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South African Moto2 rider Brad Binder reflects on his first ever GP win following the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix.
"It was a strange weekend at Jerez in 2016," says Brad. "We were relegated to the back of the grid, to 35th place, because of a technical infraction. So, there was me, sitting behind everyone and wanting to prove a point.”
'It was a good race'
"I remember thinking that the start lights were really far away. I do remember the race well. It was hard to start with.
"It was a good race. I remember overtaking rider after rider. I was up to 15th after two laps, then into the top 10 after six laps.
READ: Brad Binder geared up for 2018 Moto2 season
"I kept moving up. Third, then second and then, on lap 18, at the sixth corner as I recall. Everything just clicked. I opened a gap and won by around three seconds.
"It was a strange feeling at the end of the race, like there was more to do, another lap to race, if that makes sense. It only hit home when I came back into the pits and parked the bike, and my crew were celebrating like mad."
'It was incredibly special'
For Brad, winning in Jerez was undoutebly one of the biggest highlights of his career so far and setup his Moto3 World Championship title.
"I opened a gap at the top of the championship table to Navarro and then went on to win the next two races in a row in France and Italy.
It was so incredibly special. It’s moments like that that make all the sacrifices worthwhile,” he says, adding that he remembers the huge interest from back home in South Africa, and people talking about me being the first South African to win a Moto3 race. That makes me proud.
Proud moments
"Strangely enough, Jerez is not really my favourite circuit. It’s a fun track to ride at, I’ve done a lot of laps around here with all the testing we have done.
"Our times were good here earlier in the year. So, going into this weekend we have a really good bike set-up from the knowledge we gained from all those laps," he says.
"I know all my marks around here, which is great. Having that familiarity is great because it gives us the ability to go out and ride this weekend and not worry too much about other things."
Read Brad’s full blog ahead of the Spanish GP, here:
