Brad Binder admitted he was in “win or bust” mode while battling Jorge Martin for victory in the Thai Grand Prix as he aimed to break a two-year win drought.

The factory KTM rider pushed eventual victor Martin for the entirety of the 26-lap Thai thriller, the South African enjoying more rear grip from his RC16 than the Spaniard could garner from his Pramac Ducati.

Having finally managed to pass Martin at Turn 9 with just four laps remaining, Binder tried to break away to secure supremacy – though he ultimately fell back into the clutches of the Thai sprint winner as the adhesion from his rear tyre suddenly fell away from him.

Having crossed the line just 0.114s from victory, Binder was then relegated to third due to exceeding track limits at Turn 4 on the final tour. Conceding that he knew he would have to drop a spot after running wide on the final lap, Binder explained that he had been in “win or bust” mode all race to try and finally snap his long winless streak.

“I saw South Africa won the (rugby) world cup today, so I was win or bust,” said Binder.  

“I did my best, but Jorge (Martin) did an unreal job as I tried to stay behind him and save my tyres for the whole race.

“I thought I did enough, but the moment I passed him I realised the grip dropped so it was tricky. On the last lap, I felt that I was close enough and thought if I could just put my wheel there I could make something happen, and then at Turn 4 I went in a little hotter than a lap before and washed out and touched the green.

“I knew from the previous laps that my best chance (to pass Martin) was in the third sector because that’s where I felt I had a bit extra. I tried my hardest, but it wasn’t meant to be today.

“I tried to brake late and roll through there (Turn 4). Initially, I had the brake on for a little longer, and then when I cranked the gas I think I pulled the weight off the front tyre and as soon as I picked it up it just went wide and touched the green.

“From that point, it was a case of just surviving and fighting with what I had.”  

The two-time premier class race winner added that he still tried to “push on” and pass Martin for the on-the-road win to try and at least salvage a second following his penalty. He was also left encouraged about some of his KTM’s “strong points” having gone toe-to-toe with the fastest machine currently in the field.  

“I tried to push on and get Jorge anyway because I knew it’d be a plus one position, so I could have still finished second rather than third,” continued Binder.

“It’s never cool to lose a spot, but at the end of the day, I’m still on the podium and gave it my all so I can’t complain.

 “The best thing is that even though everything wasn’t perfect in the race, we have some really strong points when I can exploit them. If we can make our weaker points a little stronger, I think we’ll be really good.”

Deniz Oncu snatched away victory from Ayumu Sasaki to secure victory in a soaking Australian Moto3 encounter, while series leader Jaume Masia could only manage eighth.

Oncu displayed strong speed throughout the entirety of the 21-lap race, which got underway in heavy wet conditions that also provided limited vision for the riders.

The Turk was part of a lead group made up of pole man Sasaki and Husqvarna team-mate Colin Veijer, CFMoto’s Joel Kelso and Leopard Racing’s Adrian Fernandez. It would be Fernandez who made the lead his own as the race progressed, the Spaniard enjoying a lead of just over a second as the race moved past half-distance.

Disaster would follow just half-a-dozen tours from home though as Fernandez dropped his Honda after running slightly wide at Turn 11, leaving Sasaki to take the lead ahead of Oncu and Kelso.

Oncu had managed to recover from a couple of nasty moments himself to close onto the rear of Sasaki as the duo began the final lap, the KTM Ajo pilot backing out of a move at Turn 1. He continued to stalk the Japanese rider across the remainder of the lap before finally diving down the inside at Turn 10.

He managed to get his machine stopped to secure the spot, Oncu taking the chequered flag 0.407s clear of Sasaki to record his third victory of the term.

Sasaki thus had to make do with a sixth runners-up finish of the season though, as title rival Masia could only secure eighth, he narrowed his points deficit to just four heading into next weekend’s Thai Grand Prix.

Kelso meanwhile secured his maiden Moto3 rostrum result at his home event after electing to back off in the closing couple of laps after suffering a couple of moments in the tricky conditions.

Veijer claimed a distant fourth ahead of Fernandez, who managed to quickly remount and salvage a top-five result.

Sic58’s Ricardo Rossi ended up sixth ahead of Taiyo Furusato and Masia, while Snipers’ Matteo Bertelle and CIP’s Lorenzo Fellon completed the top ten.

Daniel Holgado lost further ground in the championship battle having only secured 13^th, the Tech 3 man’s cause not helped by a crash on the sighting lap. Diogo Moreira also suffered the same fate, the Brazilian retiring not long into the race as his bike was unable to be sufficiently repaired.

Several riders lost out on top ten finishes due to falling foul of the conditions. Erstwhile title contender David Alonso fell victim to Turn 4 early on as did Ivan Ortola, while Mario Aji went down from sixth after losing the front at Turn 11 just past mid-way.

David Salvador crashed from the top ten after high-siding dramatically at Turn 8, while David Munoz also went down in a similar vein to Fernandez and Aji at Turn 11.  

Brad Binder fronted a KTM MotoGP 1-2 at the end of Friday at Phillip Island, while Francesco Bagnaia will be forced to escape from Q1 once again.

Times steadily reduced as the session progressed, with Jorge Martin’s FP1-leading effort of 1:29.030s remaining as the fastest of the weekend until the final 15 minutes of the session. Aleix Espargaro was the man to eclipse Martin’s time, the Aprilia man banging in a 1:28.841s.

Despite having further improved on his following gambit, team-mate Maverick Vinales moved ahead on a 1:28.649s before Martin smashed the Spaniard with a 1:28.299s.  

It would be Binder who ultimately walked away with the honors on Friday by breaking the 1:27 barrier, the KTM pilot managing a 1:27.943s to put himself just 0.148s clear of team-mate and home hero Jack Miller as the day came to a close.

Another late improvement from Vinales ensured he ended the day third overall just ahead of Martin, whose second flying tour was compromised as he came across a struggling Bagnaia. His first lap was still good enough to keep him fourth though, while GasGas’ Pol Espargaro impressed to complete the top five.

Marco Bezzecchi was sixth for VR46 ahead of Fabio Di Gianantonio, the Gresini rider’s late-season resurgence continuing in Australia as he secured a guaranteed Q2 berth.

Enea Bastianini outshone team-mate Bagnaia once again to secure eighth ahead of Aleix. At the same time, Johann Zarco clung onto the final automatic pole shootout passage having posted the same time as Espargaro.

Bagnaia was the first man to miss out on a Friday Q2 place, the Italian improving on his final lap but still coming nearly two-tenths-of-a-second short of out-running Zarco.  This leaves him in the pressurised situation of having to progress from Q1 for the second straight week.

Also struggling were Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo, who posted times good enough for only 16^th and 17^th respectively for Honda and Yamaha behind the returning Alex Marquez’s Gresini Ducati.

Marquez was also the only man to go down during the test, the six-time premier class champion losing the front of his RC213V mid-way through the slow Turn 20 right-hander. Quartararo meanwhile had his final lap compromised at the same bend, as Augusto Fernandez moved across in front of him while on a slow lap on entry to the unsighted corner.

Alex Rins ended up as the best-placed Honda in 12^th overall for LCR, the Spaniard just 0.002s adrift of Bagnaia.

Luca Marini also struggled as he lapped just over 1.2s from Binder’s benchmark to complete the day 19^th just behind the other factory Honda of Joan Mir.

Miguel Oliveira also struggled to put together a competitive lap as he languished down in 20^th by the end of the day, the RNF Aprilia racer ahead of only LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli.

Pedro Acosta cruised to a dominant seventh win of the 2023 Moto2 season in the Indonesian Grand Prix to extend his points lead to 65.  

The Ajo rider made a spirited start and managed to rise from fourth on the grid to second as the field exited Turn 1, the Spaniard quickly heaping the pressure on pole man Aron Canet.

Acosta managed to dispatch Canet at Turn 1 only a few tours into the encounter, the KTM junior rider swiftly settling into a rhythm that allowed him to continuously eke out a gap over his pursuers.

Having also looked after his tyres effectively, Acosta was never headed beyond this point and ended up taking the chequered flag first for the seventh time this term in assured fashion by just over two seconds on Canet.

The Pons pilot held off the advances of Speed Up’s Fermin Aldeguer in the closing stages, the British Moto2 GP victor having seemingly saved his rubber better than the pole man.

Aldeguer got to within six-tenths-of-a-second of his target as the race entered its climactic moments, though ultimately fell away once again. This left Canet to claim his 12^th runners-up result in the intermediate class ahead of Aldeguer, who claimed his second career rostrum finish.

Jake Dixon meanwhile enjoyed a late-race charge to grab fourth from Manuel Gonzalez on the final tour, the GasGas rider recovering from a mistake that saw him run wide while battling with Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino.

The Brit managed to recover the deficit and get back ahead of Arbolino before dispatching Gonzalez, the latter’s gamble on opting for the harder compound rear tyre failing to pay off as he rounded off the top five.    

Arbolino’s title chances continue to look ever more remote as he took sixth having struggled for rear grip past half-distance, though he still had enough speed to stay ahead of Japanese GP winner Somkiat Chantra.

Sergio Garcia came home eighth on the sister Pons entry, while Joe Roberts claimed ninth for Italtrans ahead of the other Marc VDS machine of Sam Lowes.

Ai Ogura had a tough day and could only salvage 17^th having run outside the top 20 in the opening circulations, while Alonso Lopez also failed to score after crashing at Turn 1 on the first lap with Alberto Surra.

Gresini’s Filip Salac also suffered a tough day, the Czech rider first making a mistake that dropped him towards the back end of the top 20 before going down at the final bend after making contact with Ogura.

Pedro Acosta has finally been confirmed within the GasGas MotoGP squad for 2024, the Spaniard is joined by reigning Moto2 world champion Augusto Fernandez as Pol Espargaro becomes KTM’s test rider.

KTM has been desperately searching for a way to bring the highly-rated Acosta, who won the Moto3 title on his first attempt in 2021 and is currently leading this year’s Moto2 championship. The Austrian manufacturer was forced to find a place in the premier class for its protégé as he was able to look elsewhere for a ride should the brand be unable to offer one of its berths.

With Brad Binder performing well and signing a contract extension with KTM earlier this year, its other three riders Espargaro, Fernandez, and even Binder’s factory team-mate Jack Miller were rumoured to be sounded out for a switch to a test role for 2024. This reportedly guaranteed a wildcard program consisting of six race events, as well as an increase in salary compared to this year.

KTM revealed on Friday though that it had elected to demote Espargaro to the test role following recent strong performances from Fernandez, who finished seventh in the Japanese Grand Prix last time out. Fernandez and Acosta will thus make up GasGas’ 2024 line-up, with Binder and Miller making up KTM’s roster.

“We had an important and difficult decision to make for our GASGAS team for 2024. Augusto has made impressive first steps in MotoGP and we are convinced he has the speed and the intelligence to keep on progressing,” said KTM and GasGas Motorsports Director Pit Beirer.

“Pedro is a very special talent who has already won so much, so quickly and 2024 will be about him learning to take the next step with the big boys in MotoGP. I want to thank Pol for everything he has done and all he continues to do for us.

“This guy is super-tough and super-determined and that’s why we want to count on him as an important part of our structure. Pol’s openness and proactiveness deserves my deepest respect. It underlines his greatness as a person that he gave us a helping hand in this situation.”

KTM hopes to capture the two spaces preserved for a new manufacturer held by Dorna since Suzuki’s exit at the end of 2022 for 2025. This will allow the marque to enter two more bikes, thus giving it a way of getting Espargaro back onto the grid full-time.

It would likely use the MV Augusta brand for its third operation, with KTM’s parent company Pierer Mobility AG having taken a significant stake in the Italian manufacturer last year.

Brad Binder topped Friday’s running at the Mobility Resort Motegi by just 0.029s over Francesco Bagnaia, while Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez will have to contest Q1.

Binder came out the blocks quickly at the start of the session as he banged in a 1:45.060s to lead the field, an effort just over a tenth of a second faster than Jorge Martin’s FP1 benchmark.

Times would continue to tumble as the test progressed though, Binder’s later time of 1:44.255s was smashed by Gresini’s Fabio Di Gianantonio as the Italian became the first man to lap in the 1:43’s.

His time would be beaten by Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro as the final time attack efforts took place as the session wound down, though it would be Binder that ultimately claimed Friday honors with a stunning last gambit of 1:43.489s.

The factory KTM racer’s lap put him over three-tenths clear of anyone else, though series leader Bagnaia got close to ending the day just 0.029s adrift of the scratch time. Binder’s electric final split saved his top position as Bagnaia tracked just over a tenth faster for the bulk of the tour.

Espargaro ended the day third overall ahead of FP1 leader Martin and VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi, with Di Gianantonio bagging a direct-to-Q2 spot thanks to his earlier effort in sixth overall.

Johann Zarco followed on the second Pramac-run Ducati in seventh ahead of the sister Aprilia of Maverick Vinales, while GasGas’ Pol Espargaro claimed an impressive ninth ahead of Jack Miller, who took the final guaranteed pole shootout berth.  

The Aussie denied RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira an early Q2 graduation by just over half-a-tenth, while Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez also failed to make it into the top ten on Friday in Japan.

Quartararo ended up 13^th fastest after his session was curtailed by a nasty crash while tipping his Yamaha into Turn 6 late on, the Frenchman limping away from the scene of the crash. He headed back out for a final attempt but was unable to further improve on the time he set before his incident.

Marquez meanwhile crashed at turn 1 on his last attempt, leaving him 14^th behind Honda team-mate Joan Mir, the 2020 MotoGP world champion ending the day 12^th overall as he continues to show improved form on the RC213V.

Yamaha wildcard Cal Crutchlow claimed 16^th on Friday, the Brit lapping just over a tenth adrift of race rider Franco Morbidelli and 1.2 seconds down on Binder’s benchmark.

Raul Fernandez showed encouraging pace throughout FP2 but eventually ended up a lowly 17^th thanks to a pair of crashes at Turn 10 across the outing, which ended a pair of fast-looking attempts.

The returning Alex Rins spent Friday trying to get race fit after several months out of action, the LCR Honda rider ending the day 21^st and 3.7 seconds down on Binder’s time.

Pedro Acosta cruised to a second straight Moto2 win in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, while Jake Dixon was taken out by Alonso Lopez.

Acosta was forced to find his way to the lead on two occasions after the encounter’s original start was red-flagged due to a Turn 1 crash instigated by Gresini’s Jeremy Alcoba, the Spaniard cleaning out the likes of Fantic’s Celestino Vietti and Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra.  

Acosta swiftly regrouped when the race got back underway for a reduced 12-lap sprint, the series leader moving clear of a fast-starting Sergio Garcia on the opening tour before swiftly extending his advantage.

He had crafted a 1.5-second lead in just a couple of laps before Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino moved through to second, though the Italian also found himself unable to do much about his championship rival as he steadily fell away.

Acosta eventually took the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Arbolino in assured fashion to extend his points advantage to 39 ahead of next weekend’s Japanese GP.

The breathless battle for third meanwhile between Garcia and Italtrans racer Joe Roberts continued right up until the final couple of bends, the pair swapping places on multiple occasions as Garcia desperately tried to hang onto a maiden series rostrum result.

The Spaniard managed to hit back on every move Roberts made, the American pulling off a bold move at the banked Turn 9 on the final lap before running wide, which allowed Garcia to sneak back through once more.

Garcia’s hard work went to waste though as he ran wide at Turn 13 and had to slow significantly to not crash on the dirty paintwork on the outside of the track, allowing Roberts to slip through and secure his first podium finish of the year.

Garcia managed to at least keep the charging Yamaha Master Camp pilot of Manuel Gonzalez at bay to salvage fourth, while Zonta van den Goorbergh secured his first points of the 2023 campaign with an assured ride to sixth for the Fieten Olie GP squad.

Darryn Binder did well on his first appearance since Austria as he returned from injury, the South African taking seventh ahead of the sister Fieten Olie entry of Barry Baltus.

Marcos Ramirez was able to take the restart after being collected in the first restart crash to secure ninth for American Racing, while Filip Salac rounded off the top ten for Gresini.

The Czech rider’s team-mate Alcoba meanwhile also managed to make the restart, though he crashed out while taking the second of the long-lap penalties he received for his part in the Turn 1 incident.

Jake Dixon saw a potential rostrum charge ended after being taken out by Alonso Lopez at Turn 4 shortly after the restart, the GasGas man diving past Lopez on entry to the corner before the Speed Up rider tried to cut back, though he gassed up too early and clattered into the side of Dixon.

Both went down as a result, with Lopez remounting to take the chequered flag outside the top 20 while Dixon crashed again later on into retirement.

Ai Ogura also crashed as a by-product of Aron Canet taking out Sam Lowes at Turn 3 having outbraked himself on the inside, Canet retiring on the spot while Lowes and Ogura remounted en route to 19^th and 21^st respectively.  

Pedro Acosta dominated proceedings at Misano in the Moto2 San Marino Grand Prix to further extend his points advantage, while title rival Tony Arbolino battled back to fourth.

The KTM Ajo racer made a rapid start to jump clear of pole-man Celestino Vietti into Turn 1, the Spaniard quickly establishing a blistering pace out in front that only Vietti and Pons’ Aron Canet could match.

Canet soon though eliminated himself from contention after tucking the front of his machine at Turn 14 approaching half-distance, leaving Vietti to run down Acosta – the Fantic pilot reducing the leading advantage to just under half-a-second as the race moved past half-way.

This was as close as Vietti would get to snatching away supremacy though as he began to struggle with his front tyre, the Italian nearly losing the front of his bike several times across the closing stanza and thus allowing Acosta cruise well clear for his fifth victory of the term by 6.3 seconds over Vietti.

The battle to third meanwhile went down the very end as Arbolino fought back from ninth on the grid to chase Speed Up racer Alonso Lopez for the final rostrum spot, the Marc VDS man reducing the Spaniard’s gap to under a second in the final lap but was ultimately forced to settle for fourth as Lopez claimed his first podium finish since Le Mans in May.

Acosta thus extends his points lead to a stout 34 over Arbolino heading into the flyaway portion of the year, with GasGas’ Jake Dixon falling to 65 markers adrift of the series lead after struggling to 12^th, the Briton lacking pace on Sunday after crashing during qualifying.

Ai Ogura meanwhile managed to pull off an impressive comeback through the field to complete the top five for Honda Team Asia having started a lowly 13^th; the Japanese ace leading home team-mate Somkiat Chantra after the duo dispatched Manuel Gonzalez in the closing stages.

Italtrans’ Joe Roberts was eighth ahead of Gresini’s Filip Salac, while the wild-carding Mattia Pasini rounded off the top ten for the RW Racing operation having narrowly held off the sole remaining Pons of Sergio Garcia at the death.

Sam Lowes saw a potential top five run come to an end after crashing at Turn 1 while running sixth and hunting down the riders ahead as the race entered its final quarter, while the other Speed Up entry of Fermin Aldeguer lost out on a points finish due to a crash of his own.

Brad Binder admitted that he had to “be clever” in the closing stages of the Austrian Grand Prix after he nearly crashed on several occasions trying to chase Francesco Bagnaia.

The factory KTM rider enjoyed a strong weekend at the Austrian manufacturers home event having qualified second before finishing in the same spot in Saturday’s half-distance sprint race to Ducati pilot Bagnaia, the South African confident he would have something for the Italian in Sunday’s full-length grand prix.

Despite KTM having solved some braking-related difficulties Binder struggled with in the sprint ahead of the Austrian GP, Bagnaia ultimately looked to be in even more control as he cruised on to a commanding victory to the tune of over five seconds – Binder rueing a lack of drive from the Red Bull Ring’s slower turns as the chief reason for his deficit to Bagnaia.

He also conceded that he had to back off from the middling stages of the contest onwards after locking his front wheel on several occasions, Binder explaining that he was having to make up all the time he was losing on corner exits in the braking zones.

 “The team did a great job to give me much more braking performance today compared to yesterday (sprint), we were working until late last night to put the little details together so I owe them a massive thanks,” said Binder.

“I tried my best to give everything I had to catch Pecco (Bagnaia) at the beginning, but from lap five or six I began to realise he was really looking after his rear tyre and I might run into a bit of bother at the end.

“Everytime I would lose on the initial drive from the corner I would try and make up on the brakes and just have these huge locks, and I got to the point where I lost the front three times in one lap and just said to myself ‘be clever here, or you won’t finish.’

“So I just tried to calm down a bit and try to make the rear tyre go to the end as we knew coming here from the sprint race that that would be the main challenge.” 

Having now moved himself up to fourth in the riders standings at the mid-point of the 2023 MotoGP term – the highest non-Ducati rider in the points – Binder added that that he is “100% happy” with his solid haul of points from the Austrian weekend, and is looking forward to making further progress towards a maiden win of the year next time out in Barcelona.

“I came into this weekend wanting a lot as always, but to leave here with two second places I think we 100% need to be happy,” continued Binder.

“Today was a carbon copy of the sprint race, the same lap and same corner and could see I wasn’t going forward and could see the gap creeping up (to Bagnaia.)

“Nevertheless I managed to hold things pretty close when (the tyre) dropped towards the end, so I’m quite satisfied with that and can’t complain with a pair of seconds so we’ll see what happens next time.” 

Deniz Oncu grabbed his second Moto3 win of 2023 with a last-gasp move on series leader Daniel Holgado and Ayumu Sasaki at the Red Bull Ring.

The Turkish rider was a continual factor in the leading group across the entirety of the 20-lap contest, Oncu working with Holgado and Sasaki as well as pole-man Collin Veijer and GasGas’ David Alonso to pull well clear of the chasing pack.

Holgado led the majority of the laps as he sustained a strong pace out in front, though Sasaki made his move at the start of the very final lap as he tried to finally secure his first win of the season.

The championship leader was keen to keep his Tech 3-run KTM at the head of the pack though and dived back through at Turn 3, Oncu then getting a run on his fellow KTM ace on the run to Turn 4 – before Sasaki surprised the pair by scything back past into the lead into the bend.

The Japanese rider rode defensively as he desperately tried to hold off his determined adversaries until the very final corner, where Holgado attempted to dive through at the very last moment – the Spaniard’s bold move ultimately pushing both wide and allowing Oncu to slide by and rip away victory by just 0.005s over Holgado.

Sasaki meanwhile was forced to try and fend off rookie Husqvarna team-mate Veijer for the final spot on the rostrum, a task he just about achieved by a narrow margin of 0.017s – Sasaki securing his sixth-successive podium finish.

Ivan Ortola did his best to try and catch the lead quartet having dropped the large second group across the second half of the encounter, though the Angeluss MTA rider eventually had to settle for a distant fifth ahead of Ricardo Rossi, while Ryusei Yamanaka battled through the next pack to claim seventh on his GasGas entry.

Diogo Moreira ended up eighth on his MT Helmets – MSI-run KTM just clear of David Munoz, while Stefano Nepa held off Jose Antonio Rueda to complete the top ten on the sister Angeluss machine.

It was a tough day for Leopard Racing after title contender Jaume Masia went out early with an issue with his throttle, while team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki struggled for speed and could manage only 13^th ahead of Kaito Toba and VisionTrack Honda’s Scott Ogden.  

Alonso’s promising day also came to a swift end after the Columbian dropped his bike at Turn 2 having just moved into the leadership past half-distance.

Holgado now possesses more than a race wins worth of a points advantage heading into the Catalan event next time out, with Sasaki now 26 markers adrift – while Oncu now sits third overall courtesy of his success a further seven behind.