South African MotoGP rider Brad Binder of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in action during a free practice session during the Motorcycling Grand Prix of Indonesia at the Pertamina Mandalika International street circuit in Lombok, Indonesia, 19 March 2022. Picture: Adi Weda/EPA
Johannesburg - Argentina was a tough experience for the Binder Brothers this past weekend, but despite a difficult time around the Autodromo Termas de Rio Honda, both will have left the GP with a better understanding of their machines and themselves.
Both Brad and Darryn had a sub-par qualification in a compressed MotoGP schedule due to logistical difficulties that resulted in free practice and qualification all taking place on Saturday. It was certainly not ideal for the Binder Bros, as neither had ever circulated Termas on an elite bike before.
Nevertheless, both will move onto the Grand Prix of the Americas (Cota) this weekend with important learnings under their helmets. Brad, in particular, will have to temper his disappointment as he heads to Austin, Texas.
The 26-year-old has been adamant this year that his team - Red Bull KTM – can, will, and must compete within the Top 3 week-in and week-out, so to qualify 11th and fight for a 6th-place finish will not align with that objective, nor his ambition, no matter how he spins it publicly.
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Brad said post-race on Sunday: “It was a weekend where I expected more but we have to keep in mind that we started in 11th position and managed 6th, so it was a decent comeback.
“I wanted more and I expected more but I didn’t have the pace (on Sunday). Hats-off to the team because it was not an easy GP and we all did a great job considering we only had Saturday to prepare.
“We have some good points in the bag and brought the bike home again. There is an opportunity now to apply what I learned from this race and go even better at Cota.”
Despite their riders battling on Sunday to get to grips with the track, KTM will still be pleased. After three races, they have two podium finishes – including a race win in Indonesia – and are currently second in the constructors’ standings with 55 points, six behind Ducati; and are also second in the team standings, three points behind Team Suzuki Ecstar, who have 69 points.
Darryn, meanwhile, had an impressive warm-up in Argentina, where he finished 15th but he could not emulate that form during the race.
Starting from 23rd, he ultimately finished 18th, dropping points in the fight for the Rookie of the Year battle by losing out to Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian now leads that category by one point over the WithU Yamama RNF MotoGP Team.
Nevertheless, it was not a complete disaster for Darryn as he will have gleaned invaluable experience from the GP in his debut season in the elite class.
“I was really happy with how things went this morning,” said Darryn after the race on Yamaha-racing.com.
“I felt like I made a good step in warm-up, but unfortunately in the race, I wasn’t able to keep the same feeling. It was a really difficult race for me.
“I tried everything to keep a good rhythm and stay with the guys, but at the end of the race I was really struggling to keep the same pace as the other guys. I felt like the conditions were really different compared to this morning and the bike behaved a bit differently.
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After 200 starts in the premier class @AleixEspargaro finally joined the list of Grand Prix winners 🏆 #ArgentinaGP 🇦![CDATA[]]>🇷 pic.twitter.com/GGUqAlrSPe
“Anyway, it was a good learning experience, I will take the positives and move on to America.”
The SA contingent might not have set the highlights reel alight on Sunday, but it remained an emotional Argentine GP nonetheless.
Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia claimed the top step of the GP, his first MotoGP victory after 200 events, much to the delight of the rest of the paddock. It was also the Italian manufacturer's maiden victory in the elite category.
Spaniard Espargaro leads the riders’ championship after the triumph with 45 points, seven ahead of Brad in second. Darryn, meanwhile, is 19th on six points.