08.09.2024

Impressive top four for Binder as San Marino MotoGP™ goes into the books

MotoGP 2024 - Round 13 of 20, Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, San Marino – Race

Brad Binder KTM MotoGP 2024 San Marino Sunday © KTM Images/Polarity Photo

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The first of two consecutive MotoGP dates at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli took place in changeable conditions for the San Marino Grand Prix and Red Bull KTM Racing captured three positions inside the top ten with Brad Binder rushed to 4th place, Jack Miller managed a decent 8th while Pol Espargaro completed his third and final wildcard of the 2024 season and crossed the finish line in 10th.

Binder starts from the second row of the grid for the 27-lap chase and thirteenth round of the season and steers his KTM RC16 to a fourth top four result of the year and second on the bounce
Miller throttles into top ten contention from a qualifying slot of 12th and confirms 8th by the flag: his second-highest ranking of the year so far
Pol Espargaro adds 10th position to his 17th and 11th taken in other wildcard outings in Italy and Austria to continue development work with the next generation of the KTM RC16
Alvaro Carpe wins a thrilling dispute for the 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup ahead of fellow Spanish youngster Brian Uriarte in the championship closer at Misano

Race day at the flat and sweeping Misano layout provided freaky weather compared to the heat and intense sunshine on Friday and Saturday. After the 10 minute warm-up rush in the morning, Red Bull KTM focused on the 27-lap Grand Prix, held in front of a record 89,000 Sunday attendance.

Brad Binder jumped into the top five after reacting quickly to the lights and making headway from the second row. Jack Miller was also swift away as Pol Espargaro tried his best to win some ground from P15 on the grid. After seven laps rain began to fall on one side of the circuit. Six riders pulled into the pitlane to change bikes and Brad and Jack profited from the shake-up to surge further forward.

Binder battled for the top five and won 4th, obtaining enough points to move up to 5th in the championship standings. Miller had his hands full in a duel for the top eight and with deteriorating rear grip but rode strongly. Espargaro charted a course from mid-pack to the edge of the top ten and banked his best result of his wildcard stint this year.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will now prepare for the last official testing day of the season on Monday at Misano. After a week’s respite from action, MotoGP will then gather again at the coastal venue for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the last event in Europe before the ‘flyaway’ stint of the calendar begins.

Brad Binder, 4th: “It was a bit of a stressful situation on the grid with rain dropping. A bit sketchy and we weren’t too sure what to do. However, I stuck with my gut feeling and it worked out well. The track was at its worst in the first sector but it quickly dried. It was a chaotic race because you were unsure how hard you could push and how much risk to take. I’m happy with 4th and to be in the top five again and we found a good compromise with the bike. I was comfortable. Now we have to work through the items we have in the test and make more progress.”

Jack Miller, 8th: “A long old race. I wanted a little bit more and I felt good but I couldn’t go any faster. About ten laps from the end the lefthand edge of the rear tire started to go and I did what I could to manage the situation. The right side was fine was hard to carry good corner speed. We improved the bike a lot from Friday and I felt comfortable. I wish the rain had hung around for a bit longer!”

Pol Espargaro, 10th: “We knew it would rain but we weren’t sure when and for how long. It was wetter in some corners than others. It was interesting! It was complicated because we’re here to make laps and in race conditions but in that situation it doesn’t help to set fast ones! Anyway, I had a good race and with a good position. We did our job today. Tenth was OK.”

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A nice race! A lot of contact at the beginning and the first laps were pretty wild. A few laps later the rain came down and provided some challenging moments. Our riders managed it really well. It was a key moment of the race. 4th, 8th and 10th and three top ten positions is something to be happy about and we recovered points in the manufacturers standings. Tomorrow will be an important test so we are hoping for dry conditions and a busy day and can then look towards another race at Misano.”

San Marino Grand Prix photographs can be found HERE

Results MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix

1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 41:52.083

2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +3.102

3. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +5.428

4. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.185

8. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +19.327

10. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +38.781

17. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +1 lap

DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS

World Championship standings MotoGP

1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 312 points

2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 305

3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 259

5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 161

6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS, 152

15. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 58

19. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS, 20

KTM GP Academy

Moto3 saw 17 riders split by one second through the rush of Q2 on Saturday. Jose Antonio Rueda was one of the contenders and was still buoyant after his maiden Grand Prix win last Sunday in Aragon. #99 was denied a second chance of glory however after a blameless multi-rider crash through Turn 2 at the start of the race. He tried to recover his KTM RC4 but the bike was too badly damaged to continue. Xabi Zurutuza’s first attack of Misano in Moto3 ended with 18th place for the Spanish youngster.

Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü streamed their fast form in Moto2 into candidacy for more top results at Misano. Vietti was incredibly close to Pole Position on Saturday and took to the grid in P2. From that slot he was able to establish a pace at the peak of the pack and in the charge for trophies. Sadly the quest ended three laps from the end with a mistake into Turn 16. Öncü had made a big step with his feeling and form in Aragon last weekend with his maiden podium finish in the intermediate class. The Turk was fractions of a second from the front row in qualifying. The race rhythm was a little tougher and by the end of the 22-laps Deniz collected 19th position.

Alvaro Carpe is the 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion. The Spaniard entered the fourteenth and final race of MotoGP’s most competitive and high-profile feeder series with an eye on the prize and his runner-up result on Sunday morning was the clincher. He classified P2 as Argentina’s Valentin Perrone won the race. Brian Uriarte, who was 3rd on Sunday by just 0.3 of a second ranked second in 2024 by just two points and after another exciting campaign where the GP stars of tomorrow compete at world championship events with KTM race machinery.

Results Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix

1. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda 34:02.766

2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +0.035

3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM +0.226

5. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.491

7. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +0.596

8. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +3.756

12. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +8.400

18. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +32.041

19. Jacob Rosenthaler (AUT) Husqvarna +32.138

22. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +43.960

DNF. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo