Top eight finish for Darryn Binder in Portugal denied by small mistake

Darryn Binder of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 team experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in his first ever Moto2 race in Portimao after he slid off the track in eighth place just a few laps before the end of the race. The South African didn’t flinch for long, jumped back on the bike and made up ground again from P21 to P16!

The start to the Portimao Grand Prix went well for Darryn, who started from the eleventh position, as the 25-year-old Moto2 rookie was already in a remarkable eighth place after just a few corners, where he was fighting in a strong group against riders such as Jeremy Alcoba and Jake Dixon.

Then, on lap 15, a costly mistake. Trying to keep up with Jake Dixon, Darryn slid into the gravel at turn 5 and despite heroically rejoining the race, the remaining laps were not enough to fight his way back into the points. His strong pace eventually saw him finish 16th, but the points finish was narrowly missed by the only LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 rider this weekend.

The next race is the Argentine Grand Prix, which will be contested at Termas de Rio Hondo in just one week’s time.

Darryn Binder

P16 – (+40.233)

“It was definitely not the ending I’d been looking for the first Grand Prix but I just have to look at the positives now and take everything I can to Argentina. I had a good start and was fighting amongst a strong group for a good position for the most part of the race. I just gotta take all these positives with me but unfortunately, I made a small mistake which was really costly as I ended up going down in turn 5. I picked up the bike as quickly as I could, restarted, and fought my way back from 21st to 16th place, just short of the points but anyway, I feel like we have the package to do really well. I just need to understand it a little bit more and I believe we will fight for some good positions soon.”