KTM's Brad Binder wins Spanish MotoGP sprint race after thrilling contest, Francesco Bagnaia second
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Updated 29/04/2023 at 14:28 GMT
KTM's Brad Binder secured his second MotoGP sprint race victory after winning a thrilling contest at the Spanish Grand Prix. The 12-lap race was interrupted by a red flag on the opening lap after a collision. Despite the chaos, Binder managed to lock horns with teammate Jack Miller and make a decisive move on the penultimate tour before finishing 0.428 seconds clear to claim the chequered flag.
KTM South African rider Brad Binder celebrates on the podium after winning the sprint race of the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez racetrack in Jerez de la Frontera on April 29, 2023.
Image credit: Getty Images
South African rider Brad Binder won his second MotoGP sprint race at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday, after a contest that saw a red flag interrupt the race.
In the 12-lap sprint, Binder fought against his team-mate Jack Miller for victory, making a decisive move on the penultimate lap before crossing the finish line with a lead of 0.428 seconds.
The race was interrupted on the opening lap by a red flag, after a collision between Franco Morbidelli and Alex Marquez at Turn 2. Yamaha rider Morbidelli's bike collided with VR46 Ducati's Marco Bezzecchi, causing the latter to crash, and Tech3 GASGAS rider Augusto Fernandez also had an incident at the same spot.
A fire on Bezzecchi's Ducati forced the race to be stopped, but fortunately, all the riders were able to take the restart, which was run over 11 laps.
At the restart, Miller took the lead off the line from poleman Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia, and both KTM riders, Binder and Miller, overtook Espargaro again.
Binder then took the lead from Miller, while Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia passed Espargaro to move up the field. Miller and Martin had a heated exchange at Turn 9, with Martin taking second place before Miller retaliated into the Dani Pedrosa corner at Turn 6. Martin tried to repeat his Turn 9 move seconds later but ran slightly wide, allowing Miller to take back second place.
Miller held the lead until lap nine when Binder launched his first attack and tried to outbrake his team-mate into Turn 6. Binder got all out of shape and couldn't hold the line. He made a similar attempt on lap 10, and though he ran wide at Turn 6, he was able to scythe up the inside of Miller at the following corner.
Once in the lead, Binder immediately pulled away by four tenths as Miller fell victim to Bagnaia's advances at Turn 6 on the final lap.
Behind them, Martin hoped to capitalize on the battling ahead, but he had to settle for fourth, as RNF Aprilia's Miguel Oliveira fended off KTM wildcard Pedrosa, who completed the top six in his first-ever MotoGP sprint race. Maverick Vinales finished seventh on his Aprilia, as his team-mate Aleix Espargaro crashed out of fifth on lap six.
Other riders who suffered crashes included Honda duo Joan Mir and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR), while Marc Marquez's injury stand-in Iker Lecuona finished 18th in his first MotoGP start since 2021.
Ducati's Enea Bastianini was a non-starter after withdrawing from the Spanish GP weekend due to injury earlier that day.
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