“Like standing still” - Binder forced into “Moto2” map during Austrian MotoGP charge

Pedro Acosta set the fastest lap on his way to a memorable maiden victory in the Austrian MotoGP, but KTM team-mate Brad Binder was not far behind for outright speed.

Binder set the third-fastest lap of the race and was quicker than Acosta through two individual sectors:

The South African used that pace to charge from 11th on the grid to a season-best sixth at the chequered flag.

“I'm happy to have got my best finish of the year in sixth place,” Binder began.

“Definitely would have liked to have been a bit further up the grid for sure. I gave my best, I went and [whacked] myself in warm up which definitely didn't help much. But other than that, it was pretty good.”

"Like I was standing still"

However, Binder had been holding fifth at the midway stage of the 28 laps, when a fuel warning forced him to switch to what he described as a “Moto2” eco power map.

“I never had the speed to go with Ogura, and when I was riding alone I got the fuel warning, so I had to put the f**king ‘Moto2’ [power] map, and then Marc and Aldeguer passed me like I was standing still, so that wasn't ideal," he said.

“As soon as I had saved enough fuel, I could put the power back, and then I started to catch up again.

“A little bit tricky, because you arrive so much slower [when saving fuel] at the next corner that you have to move all your brake markers, so it took a few laps to adjust.

“But definitely my most successful weekend this season.

“Happy with the pace I was able to put together, and happy with the work done this weekend.”

Binder eventually finished 8.7s behind first-time winner Acosta.

“Well done to my team, well done to Pedro on his first victory, he really really deserves it and I'm sure it's the first of many," Binder said.

Sunday was the final home KTM event for both Acosta and Binder. The Spaniard will move to Ducati next season while Binder is leaving MotoGP for WorldSBK with BMW.