Brad Binder on Sunday finished in second place at the first round of MotoGP 2022 season at the Qatar GP, in Losail circuit.
The KTM rider even took advantage of a mistake at turn 1 by the Honda rival, Pol Espargaro, and managed to take second place at the end of the race.
“All the KTMs today were on the medium front tyre. Not because riders prefer this compound, but because we wouldn’t have been able to finish the race on the soft. That was the reasoning that led us to choose the medium (tyre) at the front,” Binder said.
“It was an excellent decision because the tire held up perfectly throughout the race, it was very consistent,” he added.
The South African pushed his KTM RC16 into 3rd position in the formative laps and never budged from the leading quartet.
He worked his way past Marc Marquez and then Pol Espargaro and was closing to the rear wheel of eventual winner Enea Bastianini by the checkered flag.
“I am incredibly happy to be on the podium here in Qatar. This is the first time this has happened to me. This is one of the tracks on the calendar where I know I will always suffer a lot.” Binder said.
“I cannot thank the entire team enough for doing an amazing job over the winter. Our package is definitely more competitive than last year.
“Today I managed to go all the way, but Enea did a fantastic job and deserves my praise. In the last few laps I tried to get close, but it was too late. I managed to keep up with the leaders at the start and finished the race well. I’m happy,” he added.
This weekend”s Grand Prix was the first of a record 21-race season climaxing in Valencia, Spain, on November 6. The next race is scheduled for March 20 in Indonesia.
