Brad Binder has admitted responsibility for two significant incidents he triggered during the Indonesian MotoGP that affected Luca Marini and Miguel Oliveira.
KTM rider Brad Binder collided with VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini, ending a promising race for the rider, before forcing Miguel Oliveira wide during the Indonesian MotoGP race on Sunday.
Despite finishing sixth after he was handed two long lap penalties, the South African visited an infuriated Marini who readily accepted his apology.
“This has been a difficult weekend for us,” Binder said. “Fast on new tyres but we only found decent pace in the race today, yesterday I struggled in the beginning.
“I didn’t get a bad start, it was okay, I was figuring out the medium tyre which I hadn’t used since Friday. Unfortunately, I had a little shake at Turn 8, when I went to grab my front brake I pulled it into my fingers.
“I started to panic because I had two guys on the outside. I stamped on my rear brake and tried to get around all the riders.
“I’m really sorry that I ended up hitting Luca and destroying his race. I’m sorry to his team for destroying what could have been a really good day for them.
“After that, I was pushing too hard, trying to come through the field. When I had the moment with Miguel, I was a little bit hot. I had to dive inside at the last moment, and I clipped him too.
“I really deserved both long lap penalties today. Sorry to both riders and both teams.”
Marini felt frustrated and said he could have placed on the podium before Binder ruined his race.
“It doesn’t matter what happens, you have a responsibility to not hit anybody on track, to not put anybody else in danger,” Binder added. “I had it earlier in the day when my brakes opened but hadn’t had it in the race.
“I thought the guys had fixed my problem but the reality is, if you get head-shake, they open.
“I was very lucky that I still had a bit of pressure. Had I had nothing, who I would’ve hit? What would’ve happened? It would have been at a much higher speed.
“Unfortunately things like this can happen. I’m really sorry to them. It’s never anyone’s intention to create an outcome like this for anyone else’s race.
“I had a little bit of an advantage to them on the brakes,” he explained the incident with Oliveira. “By that time they’d started to overcook their soft front tyre.
“So the marker I was using in Turn 2 was quite a bit later than theirs. I didn’t expect it, didn’t anticipate it.
“When we grabbed the brake I started pulling towards the back of him, then decided I had to go inside to avoid him.
“Unfortunately, I clipped the side of him.”
