(Photo:
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing/Twitter)
Syrupy on Saturday but vinegary on Sunday.
This is how South Africa’s motorcycle hero Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM)’s weekend on the Termas de Rio Hondo track in Santiago can be summed up.
After Binder took an incredible victory in the pre-sprint over 12 laps on Saturday night, his MotoGP dreams were ended after only 30 seconds on Sunday when he crashed in the fifth turn.
Binder, who started in 12th position in the fourth starting row, tried to push on, but in the rain and wet track it was a daunting task with a big backlog.
The officials launched an investigation into whether Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) contributed to Binder’s fall, but they could not find any fault.
Binder finished 17th of the 17 drivers.
The MotoGP was won by Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati), with Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) second, Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) third, Franco Morbidelli (Monster Yamaha) fourth and Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducagi) fifth. Binder’s teammate, Australian Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM), was sixth.
It was Bezzecchi’s first victory in MotoGP and he leads the championship standings after two races (50 points).
He is followed by the current world champion, Franceso Bagnaia (41), who also fell on Sunday and finished 16th. Zarco (35) is third, Marquez (33) fourth), Viñales (32) fifth and Miller (25) sixth.
Binder (22 points) is eighth.
The next MotoGP is on April 16 in Austin, Texas, with the sprint on April 15.
