Brad Binder takes fourth in the first ever #IndianGP – Miller 14th
The first ever Indian Grand Prix will sit easily in the memory for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and their growing legion of fans in the country as Brad Binder helped put on a gripping and speed-fueled show at the Buddh International Circuit. The South African finished 4th while Jack Miller took points in 14th through a hot affair outside of New Delhi.
MotoGP scorched around the undulating 5km layout south east of the city and in high temperatures as more fans gathered in the principal grandstand as well as the wide public areas. There was no danger of a repeat of the rainstorm that delayed the Saturday Sprint and gave the Grand Prix teams experience of Buddh in damp conditions but the climate was intense and humid for the race that was reduced to 21 laps.
The red light went out at 15.30 local time and Binder and Miller were aiming to replicate their excellent starts from Saturday that saw both rocket from 14th and 16th on the grid to the edge of the top five. On this occasion it was Binder who leapt away through the extremely difficult and tight Turn 1. The South African suffered some contact but regrouped to charge forward. Binder diced with Joan Mir in the last two laps to make sure of his second top-four result of the weekend. Miller ran wide into Turn 1 and then again the second lap trying to recoup ground. He then focused on making gains and entered the points-scoring positions to take 14th.
After misfortune in Catalunya and Misano, Binder was able to replenish his world championship points tally and remains 4th in the standings. Miller holds 9th while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are ranked 4th in the Teams list. The company is placed 2nd among the Constructors. More eastern travel occurs immediately. The boxed-up paddock will jet across to the Twin Ring Motegi for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan and round fourteen of the series next weekend.
Brad Binder, 4th:
“I gave absolutely everything I had today. It wasn’t quite the result we were hoping for but coming back from 12th to 4th was quite decent. Two 4th places mean it has been a solid Indian GP for us. We worked as hard as we could to maximize what we had for today. The bike felt good but I think we were just struggling a bit more than we anticipated to get out of the slower corners. It is clear what we need to improve for the future and hopefully for Japan.”
Jack Miller, 14th:
“Not too high, not too low this weekend. I struggled today. I didn’t have the grip I needed from the get-go both front and rear. I could carry any corner speed at all. I had a bit of contact into Turn 1 as well, which wasn’t ideal and then tried to make up too many positions in one go on the second lap. It was uphill battle from there and our pace wasn’t anything like Saturday. It is a bit of a head-scratcher. Fingers-crossed we can work on what we found out this weekend and what we tried at the Misano test for Motegi.”
