Binder believes people “forget” how big the jump is from Moto3 to MotoGP

The South African – the younger brother of Brad Binder – became the first rider since Jack Miller in 2015 to make the direct move from Moto3 to MotoGP this season when he was signed by the RNF to ride a year-old Yamaha.

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Binder endured a difficult first half of the season but showed brilliant speed to finish 10th in the rain in only his second Grand Prix in Indonesia and was 12th in the dry in Catalunya ahead of factory Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli. and Ducati’s Jack Miller.

He is currently level on 10 points with team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, a 15-time race winner, who is 21st in the standings.

Looking back at the first 11 rounds of 2022, Binder feels that spectators sometimes don’t realize how big a step he has made in moving from Moto3 to MotoGP.

“Sometimes I feel that [people] sometimes we forget a little, but very little,” he said.

“It was a big step. You do something good and you are expected to carry on and sometimes you need to take a step back, take things under control in order to move forward again.

“And I feel that happened at the Sachsenring. I came from Barcelona, ​​scored points, went well, got faster in practice, closed the gap to the first in all sessions.

“I felt pretty strong all weekend and then I messed up qualifying.

“You want it [gain]but sometimes you have to remember that it’s a big step and it’s so crowded and if you’re one second behind, you’re nowhere.

“Sometimes I had to remind myself that I would have to take a step back to move forward again.”

As for his overall season so far, Binder thinks it’s a “good eight out of 10” considering what he’s accomplished in terms of his experience.

“I give it an eight out of 10 because I feel like it’s a very, very big step up from Moto3, and I feel like there were certain moments this year where I really didn’t do too badly,” he added.

“Obviously I struggled in some races and at the Sachsenring I crashed out.

“Overall I feel like I’ve been doing a steady job and getting closer and closer.

“So I’d give him a solid eight. I feel like I lost a couple of races, like in America, I wasn’t doing well and then my bike had a little problem.

“And at Le Mans I got a bit lost and it got me [a while] to find my way again. But other than that, I feel like everything was good.”