The Austrian team only had to admit defeat to the outstanding Ducati works team, but for the first time since entering the premier class of the road world championship, they climbed into second place. The aim is to further increase the yield next year. “I’m here and ready to attack again in 2023,” said South African Binder. The KTM team, which was third in the team classification after the 2020 season, had never scored 337 points. This blew up the phalanx of the Italians, leaving the Aprilia factory team and Pramac Racing just behind. Binder, who was sixth in the final classification of the World Cup, contributed 188 points. In addition to three second places, the 27-year-old always finished in the points, with the exception of the Portuguese Grand Prix, where he retired. His team-mate Miguel Oliveira, who is now leaving KTM, managed victories in Indonesia and Thailand, but did not have Binder’s consistency over the entire season. As tenth in the World Cup, the Portuguese scored 149 points.
“A massive thank you to my team for looking up to me all season and fighting so hard for me,” said Binder. “It wasn’t easy the way things went but we always recovered and showed our best performances on Sunday.” Incidentally, KTM took fourth place in the constructors’ championship. The only drop of bitterness for the most successful South African in the motorcycle world championship to date? “It really nagged me that I didn’t win a race. It’s been a few years since I went a full year without a win.”
He also tried everything at the last Grand Prix, but in the end he was beaten by Spaniard Alex Rins by 0.396 seconds. Oliveira came in fifth place. “We’ve worked hard and fought hard all year. Now we have to take what we’ve learned, apply it and come back even stronger next year,” emphasized Binder, whose third victory should now come in 2023.
In order to further increase the clout of the team, Jack Miller was also iced out by Ducati. The World Cup fifth from Australia replaces Oliveira, who is drawn to the new Aprilia customer team RNF. “Miguel has been an incredible teammate over the years. I wish him the best for his future, which lies elsewhere,” said Binder. “On Tuesday we welcome Jack and I’m confident he’ll do a really good job for us.”
Source: Nachrichten
