MotoGP: Binder gambles on slick tire, wins in Austria

MotoGP races are exhilarating week in, week out. But the 2021 Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich was undoubtedly the wildest race we’ve ever seen. Emerging victorious was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) the brave, as we witnessed the South African stay out on slick tires despite heavy rain falling with three laps to go.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) swapped to his wet weather machine and snatched second place on the last lap after passing six riders on the final lap, with Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) claiming a third podium of the season after also swapping bikes in the closing stages.

Some riders switched to the rain tire. photo: MICHELIN

Race Results

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	25	33	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	40’43.928
2	20	63	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	+12.991
3	16	89	Jorge MARTIN	SPA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	+14.570
4	13	36	Joan MIR	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	+15.623
5	11	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY VR46 Avintia	Ducati	+17.831
6	10	27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	+17.952
7	9	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	+19.650
8	8	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	+20.150
9	7	73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	+20.692
10	6	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	+21.270
11	5	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	+28.144
12	4	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	+28.193
13	3	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	+28.603
14	2	42	Alex RINS	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	+33.642
15	1	93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+38.459
16		44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+43.384
17		35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	+55.950
		88	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	6 Laps
		5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	10 Laps
		23	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Avintia Esponsorama	Ducati	22 Laps