MotoGP Assen: Brad Binder penalty repeat: “How did I do that again? Extremely sorry to mess it up”
Stripped of a Sprint podium for exceeding track limits on the final lap, Brad Binder made an identical error on the last lap of Sunday’s Dutch MotoGP at Assen.
Once again, Binder only touched the prohibited green area on the outside of the Turn 8 kerbing by a matter of millimetres, as he sought to keep Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin at bay, but it was enough to see him demoted from third to fourth after the flag.
Just as on Saturday, the KTM rider had no idea he had strayed over the kerb until the slowdown lap. It was a cruel blow for Binder, who had snatched the lead into turn one, then cleverly managed his soft rear tyre while all his opponents ran the hard.
“I think we did a good job today - until the last lap. And for that I'm extremely, extremely sorry to my team because I took away two podiums for them,” said the South African.
“They've done a great job, put in a huge effort and I'm sorry to mess it up like that.
Just like yesterday! @BradBinder_33 exceeded track limits on the last lap and loses third place! #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/lzQaRfZOz7
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) June 25, 2023
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“I didn't know I'd even touched it. And then we went to turn 1 and Aleix was pointing at the green.
“Then I saw the TV and I was like, ‘How did I do that again?’ Anyway, it's it is what it is. I touched it by maybe a couple of millimetres again.
“The rules are the rules. I feel like f**king brain-dead to do it again!
“I'll try to make up for it in Silverstone.”
Binder had chosen the soft rear tyre to mitigate the drive grip advantage the leading Ducatis of Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia had enjoyed on Saturday.
“I had an unreal start [to take the lead] and then my priority was to protect the right side of the tyre,” he explained.
“We did a great job in trying to make the tyre last and, to be honest, it’s the first time I've ever been able to go softer on the rear than anybody else. Because it’s not my strongest point as a rider.
“So I'm proud of that small accomplishment. But it would have been nice to have had two podiums for sure.”
"It’s painful to lose the podium again. We paid the same bill at the same corner!" said Red Bull KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti. "It’s something we have to learn for next year."
Despite the late mistakes, Binder has moved above Johann Zarco for fourth place in the world championship standings, behind the Ducatis of Bagnaia, Martin and Bezzecchi.
Team-mate Jack Miller crashed out on lap 2.
