After burning some rubber on the bumpy Circuit of the Americas, the Binders headed back to Misano in San Marino for another round of the Moto3 and MotoGP world championship. This weekend marked the sixteenth Grand Prix on the 2021 racing calendar, with only two rounds now remaining. This weekend brought with it chilly autumn conditions, making it difficult for the riders to get around the flat coastal circuit of Misano.
Darryn Binder
The weather conditions on Friday’s free practice couldn’t have been any different to Saturday’s qualifying. Despite the mist and light rain in free practice, Darryn Binder put in consistently quick lap times and ended FP3 in 10th, securing a place in Q2. Qualifying on the other hand proved to be a struggle for Darryn and this resulted in him lining up in 16th for Sunday’s race.
Sunday saw Darryn set off like a rocket, making his way from 16th on the grid to tenth by the end of the opening lap, and by the third lap he was up to seventh. By the halfway point, Darryn was in the thick of the podium fight.
Just when we thought Darryn was going for the top step, he got caught in the final laps and ultimately missed out, crossing the line in fourth. With 136 championship points, he sits sixth in the championship standings.
Darryn Binder: “It was a strange race because the first time we got out on the slicks was the out lap going to the grid! Going into the race, I was confident because I had a good race here last time and I knew that our set up was good in the dry. I started off in the group and made my way to the front slowly. When Dennis [Foggia] arrived at the front I knew he would have good pace, so I got behind him. However, I felt like I was pushing just to hang on to the back of him and unfortunately when I avoided [Izan] Guevara’s crash it broke the slipstream. I’ve been struggling with speed and I started drifting back. I was hoping I could hold on to a podium, but it wasn’t possible. Fourth is a bit disappointing but at the end of the day it is what it is.”
Brad Binder
Just like brother Darryn, Brad Binder had a tricky qualifying Saturday morning with the track drying in some places and staying wet in others. Brad just couldn’t find enough pace and his small mistake and crash in Q1 meant that he would start the Grand Prix from 20th.
More drama unfolded on race day as Brad took a tumble on the sighting lap, before making his way to the grid. He had to quickly make his way back and jump on his second bike to set off from 20th—thank goodness he didn’t have to start from the pitlane.
Brad made an early charge through the pack, reached 15th and continued to search the limit with his set-up, even sustaining a long lap penalty for touching track limits. A late surge from Valentino Rossi prevented Binder from finishing in the top ten. With 136 championship points, he sits seventh in the championship standings.
Brad Binder: “All in all, I’d say today is a day to forget. I felt quite good for the race and chose the harder tyre option. I wanted to feel what it was like on the Sighting Lap but I didn’t have my brakes warm enough going down the back straight and I locked up the front wheel. Not clever. That’s the first time I’ve ever crashed on the Sighting Lap: not good at all. I tried hard in the race and I felt like I was coming along but I wouldn’t describe it as solid. I’d like to know where I touched the green limits for the Long Lap. I’m really sorry to the team and all the guys for the confusing weekend. I’m glad Misano is over and we’ll do better in Portimao.”
The Binders will now have a one-week break before the final two rounds of the season get underway, starting with the Grande Prémio do Algarve in Portugal (5-7 November).
