Top seven finish for Brad at Phillip Island

The swirl of brisque spring weather conditions continued to make life a challenge for the teams and riders at Phillip Island. A dry, mild climate had been a rarity across the weekend with frequent showers, chilly winds and strong gusts adding to the adversity of the spectacular and scenic circuit southeast of Melbourne. Thankfully race day was sunny.

Brad Binder and teammate Jack Miller started from 11th and 16th places on the grid of 21 riders and were keen to repeat their excellent starts from the Saturday Sprint where Brad reached as high as P4. The 27-lap race distance meant careful conservation of rear tire grip across the newish asphalt was key and forced a pacing strategy. As the race unfolded Brad kept plugging away and battling hard, finally crossing the line in P7.

MotoGP will move to a markedly different climate this week. The Chang International Circuit in Buriram will host the Thai Grand Prix and round eighteen next weekend.

Brad Binder
7th:

“I tried my best from the beginning until the end. This morning we put in a different aero package for the dry conditions and the bike was turning a bit better. That was good and positive for the race and we could try to carry a bit more speed. I managed to stick with the boys for a while but when they dropped the pace at the end I couldn’t quite go with them. We learned a lot this weekend and we made another small step but obviously we need more to get closer.”