Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider finishes in twelfth position at Phillip Island after being involved in the fight for victory.

A spectacular Moto3 race opened up the action on Sunday at Phillip Island, with twenty riders in contention for the victory in the Australian GP on the final lap. Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Darryn Binder had another great performance, and was only relegated to twelfth on the final lap due to a series of passes.

Starting from the front row for the first time in his career, the South African was among those in a large leading group right from the off. The pack of more than twenty riders duked it out over a wild 23 laps of constant overtaking, in which the slightest mistake was punished with the losing of several positions. Binder was one of the stronger riders and the most prominent figures at the front of the group, crossing the line in first on 10 occasions –the last of which with just 4 laps remaining. Only the aggressive scramble for positions on the last lap prevented Binder from repeating a spot on the podium.

Claiming 4 points today, Darryn Binder is nineteenth in the overall standings with 48 points, with two races remaining in the 2018 season. The Moto3 World Championship now moves on to Malaysia for the final encounter of the flyaway rounds.

Results (Race)
1. Albert Arenas (KTM) 37:48.073
2. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.052
3. Celestino Vietti (KTM) +0.059
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) +0.081
5. Jorge Martin (Honda) +0.099
12. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.889

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2018
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 215 points
2. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) 203 points
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 195 points
4. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 150 points
5. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) 131 points
19. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 48 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“For the third consecutive GP, Darryn [Binder] had a good pace and was very fast throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, on the last lap we didn’t have luck on our side and we lost the chance of a podium or even a victory, but in any case he had a great race. Anything can happen in the Moto3 races at Phillip Island, and you need some luck. I am confident that we can continue on the same path at Sepang, because Darryn is in really strong form.”

40 DARRYN BINDER
“Today I felt very strong in the race. We had a very good position on the front row and I made a good start, slotting into the top positions. I had a very good pace and I led for many laps. The slipstream at the end of the main straight made the result a lottery. On the last lap I had put myself in a good position to fight for the podium, but a strange move of another rider at Turn 3 almost knocked me off-track; I thought I was going to crash. Luckily I was able save it and finish as high up as possible, in 12th. I feel that this race could have been mine, so I’m taking all the positives from this weekend on to Malaysia.”