Brad Binder wins Misano and moves closer to Moto3 championship title

13th Rd. Moto3 2016 – Misano World Circuit (ITA)

Brad Binder's closest rival and local rider Enea Bastianini fought a tough race with the South African and took the challenge all the way to the final lap. KTM rider Joan Mir of Spain finished third in front of came out ahead of Italy’s Nicolo Bulega (KTM) in what was a tight two-way battle for the final podium place. Andrea Locatelli and Philipp Oettl rode their KTM RC250 GP bikes to places 6-8 to give the Austrian brand five of the top ten finishers.

Although the points gap will now be difficult to bridge, Bastianini has moved into second place to be Binder’s closest rival after Jorge Navarro failed to finish for the third consecutive round but the Spaniard remains third in the points.

Binder, a racer with a cool head and finely tuned race craft commented in the finish area: “From about lap four and five, when everyone was close up behind me I just pushed and tried to keep my rhythm consistent. I saw we had broken away from the second group and I had a little look behind me and there was just Mir and Bulega behind us. With five laps left I let him (Bastianini) have a go at the front and we lost more than half a second a lap. So I just waited for the last lap and made sure I got it done."

Binder started the race on pole, but it was Bastianini, a winner here in 2015 and riding in front of his home crowd, who was fastest off the line. Then Binder took the lead in the second lap and the two settled down into what evolved into a two-man fight for the lead. Bastianini took the advantage from time-to-time in the opening laps of the 23-lap race, but by lap six the South African controlled the action until he relinquished the lead with five to go. Then in tactics that have become very familiar as the season progressed, Binder shadowed the Italian while be made his decision where to attack in the last lap. 

The top riders nine riders were only about six tenths of a second apart in the first nine laps but as action progressed the leading pair broke away while behind them Mir and Bulega, riding together, fought it out for the final podium place. 

Misano was a disappointing race for Binder’s teammate in the Red Bull Ajo team. The Dutch teenager Bo Bendsneyder, who took a career-first podium in the previous round exited in the early stages. 

Navarro’s unfortunate exit in the ninth lap put Binder’s title chances in the spotlight but 125 points are still up for grabs from the five remaining rounds, three of which are overseas. Following the next round at Aragon, teams depart for Japan, Australia and Malaysia. They then return for the final round in Valencia, where the Red Bull KTM MotoGP Factory Racing Team will race the new KTM RC16 MotoGP bike as a wild card entry. The factory team will race the premiere class from 2017.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup action boiled over in Misano and Ayumu Sasaki took home the 25 points ahead of Aleix Viu and Kaito Toba. That was the order on the podium but not crossing the line.

Six KTM RC250 RBs battled, race long, for the lead and it was 15-year-old Spaniard Viu who took the chequered flag in front of Toba, the 16-year-old Japanese and Rufino Florido, the 16-year-old Spaniard.The trio, Viu, Toba and Florido, were all then penalised a place for exceeding track limits by MotoGP Race Direction. Thus Sasaki, the 15-year-old Japanese who had crossed the line fourth, was promoted to winner.

Sasaki actually decided not to cross the line first. “I started with the idea of winning but I changed my mind half way through the race. I realised that it was all so crazy that if I tried to win I would probably crash. So I was happy to race with Rory (Skinner) and Florido as they were being more sensible and it was OK to be fifth.” A clearly very emotional Sasaki was tearful in parc fermé and not a happy winner. “It wasn’t a fair race for me and it also wasn’t a fair result for the other guys. That isn’t how it should be. Now I just have to focus on Aragon, on winning there and winning the Cup.”

Next Race: September 25, 2016 – MotorLand Aragon (ESP)
 
Results Moto3 Misano 2016
1. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, 39:37.556 min (23 Laps)
2. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Honda, +0.262 sec
3. Joan Mir (ESP), KTM, +1.416
4. Nicolo Bulega (ITA), KTM, +1.534
5. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE), Honda, +4.278
Other KTM
6. Andrea Locatelli (ITA), KTM, +4.387
8. Philipp Oettl (GER), KTM, +5.582
12. Juanfran Guevara (ESP), KTM, +14.091
15. Andrea Migno (ITA), KTM, +14.868
17. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (ITA), KTM, +23.349
18. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), KTM, +23.523
DNF Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG), KTM, +17 laps
DNF Maria Herrera (ESP), KTM, +22 laps
DNF Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, 0 lap
 
Standings Moto3 2016 after 13 of 18 rounds
1. Binder, 229 points
2. Bastianini, 123
3. Jorge Navarro (ESP), Honda, 118
4. Bulega, 113
5. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Mahindra, 110
Other KTM
6. Mir, 106
8. Romano Fenati (ITA), KTM, 93
11. Locatelli, 65
12. Oettl, 56
14. Bendsneyder, 52
15. Quartararo, 52
20. Migno, 42
22. Guevara, 33
24. Rodrigo, 14
27. Dalla Porta, 7
28. Herrera, 6

Results Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Misano 2016
All riders on KTM RC250 RB
1. Ayumu Sasaki (JAP), 30:18.133 min (17 laps)
2. Aleix Viu (SPA), +0 (penalty)
3. Kaito Toba (JAP), +0 (penalty)
4. Rufino Florido (SPA), +0 (penalty)
5. Raul Fernandez (ESP), +0.077 sec

Standings Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2016 after 11 of 13 rounds
1. Sasaki, 212 points
2. Viu, 181
3. Fernandez, 166
4. Garcia, 150
5. Toba, 96

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