World Champion obtains sixth win of the season in a race held over 10 laps. Bo Bendsneyder places inside the Top 10.

The Australian Grand Prix was once again a race to remember for Red Bull KTM Ajo, as Brad Binder took his sixth victory of the season in a contest reduced to 10 laps after a red flag. With this latest win, the team have now taken 4 wins in 5 Moto3 races at Phillip Island. Bo Bendsneyder placed tenth on his debut at the Australian track, his fifth Top 10 of the year.

The Moto3 race was crash-filled from the start, as on Lap 6 a multiple rider pile-up forced the red flag out when Brad Binder was leading the way. At the restart, with the contest now reduced to 10 laps, the South African achieved what had previously seemed impossible and escaped from the chasing pack. He would eventually finish nearly 6 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, taking victory and his 13th podium in 16 races.

Rookie Bendsneyder took the restart from thirteenth position, and was part of a large second group of fifteen riders fighting for third. In the end, the Dutchman was able to cross the finish line in tenth place, 8 tenths off the rostrum.

Following this second round of the flyaway triple-header, the Moto3 World Championship heads to Malaysia for next week’s penultimate round of the season. Already crowned World Champion, Binder goes to Sepang with a total of 294 points to his name, with teammate Bendsneyder in 16th position with 59.

Results (Race)
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 16:22.009
2. Andrea Locatelli (KTM) +5.937
3. Aron Canet (Honda) +9.594
4. Darryn Binder (Mahindra) +9.642
5. Livio Loi (Honda) +9.680
10. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +10.358

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2016
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 294 points
2. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 164 points
3. Jorge Navarro (Honda) 143 points
4. Nicolo Bulega (KTM) 129 points
5. Joan Mir (KTM) 124 points
16. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 59 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“It was a great race for Brad [Binder]. We could say that he won in the style of a World Champion today. He controlled the race before the red flag and then on the restart he did it again from beginning to end. Big respect to Brad. Thank you very much also to the whole team, for having everything under control.
Phillip Island was a new experience for Bo [Bendsneyder], so tenth position is a good result. He fought well in a big group of riders. Bo is learning at every race for next year.”

41 BRAD BINDER

“Today has been fantastic -we had a very good race. I started very well, I felt very strong on the first few laps and I decided to push to open a gap to my rivals. I knew if I extended the advantage and broke out of the slipstream I could keep away from the chasing pack, and I managed to carry that out. On the first five laps I saw that I had a 3 second lead, and knowing this was key to relaxing and going even faster. I think this was the race in which I had my best feeling. I’m very happy that I got another win, but today is much more special because my brother finished fourth.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER

“I am very happy with tenth place at my first Australian Grand Prix. The race was a bit strange from the beginning, because there were many crashes, lots of tough battles and the red flag. In the end I think we achieved a good result and I want to thank the team for all the work they have done. It has been a very difficult weekend, with changes between dry and wet conditions at a completely new track for me. Now we have to focus on Malaysia, another circuit where I have never ridden before.”