Brad Binder: Penalty fears put me off last-turn Pecco attack

Brad Binder admitted the recent spate of MotoGP penalties meant he decided against trying a ‘roll the dice and see what happens’ pass for victory at the end of Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP.

Peter McLaren

03 May 2023

Francesco Bagnaia, MotoGP race, Spanish MotoGP 30 April

The Red Bull KTM star, who took his second Sprint victory of the season on Saturday, was chasing Francesco Bagnaia as the pair headed into the famous final corner for the last time.

It’s been the scene of famous showdowns in the past; Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau in 2005, then Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez in 2013.

Both clashes are proudly celebrated on the wall of the Jerez media centre, alongside other fierce battles at the track between Mick Doohan and Alex Criville in 1996, plus Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in 2010.

But the Bagnaia-Binder contest wasn't to join them.

With plenty of Long Lap penalties already handed out for contact with other riders this season, including both red flag incidents at the start of the Spanish races, Binder elected against launching a risky move.

“Nowadays racing isn’t how it used to be and the reality is you get penalties if you make mistakes and hit people, so takes a bit of the fun out of it, but I suppose it makes it safer,” said Binder, who crossed the finish line just 0.221s from Bagnaia’s Ducati.

“Definitely,” he replied when asked if the possibility of a penalty was on his mind heading into the last corner.

“I mean, I’m not a guy that likes to leave anything on the table. I felt like I was almost close enough, but I wasn’t. So it would have been one of those ‘roll the dice and see what happens’ moments.

“But the thing is, with the way things are nowadays, it wouldn't be in your benefit to… It might work out fine, but there's a very good chance you might have a bit of contact.

“So that position you might gain would probably just get taken away anyway.”

Earlier in the race, Bagnaia was ordered to hand a position back to Binder’s team-mate Jack Miller for a close pass at the Turn 6 hairpin, which saw Miller take evasive action.

Binder added: “The reality is nowadays if you hit somebody, you're going to get some sort of penalty, so you’ve got to keep that in the back of your mind. And even though it's the last corner, the last lap, it doesn't change anything.

“But anyway, on one hand, it's safer, for sure. And it can work in your favour, depending on where you are [the rider ahead or rider being chased].”

MotoGP riders are due to meet with the FIM Stewards to better understand the penalty criteria during next weekend’s French MotoGP at Le Mans.

Binder is third in the world championship, 25 points behind Bagnaia, with Marco Bezzecchi in between.