Bastianini was followed across the finish line by the Sky Racing Team VR46 duo Romano Fenati and Nicolo Bulega on their KTM machines to give the Austrian brand three of the top five finishers. Fellow KTM riders Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir finished 7-8.

Brad Binder, who had won the previous three races on his KTM RC250 GP, started on pole and got away fast to lead the race in the initial stages. Already with a reputation for his superb race tactics, he stayed firmly anchored in top group and was frequently in the lead. In the second half of the race it became clear that Navarro was going to be his main challenger for the win but it was the incident with KTM rider Argentina’s Gabriel Rodrigo that spoiled Binder’s chance of making it a Moto3 class record of four consecutive wins.

Speaking immediately after the race, Binder was philosophical about the outcome: “When I was sitting behind the group I knew I had battled in the first sector but in the last three I was a lot quicker. I don’t know where Rodrigo was trying to go, but I had the inside curve. But I am so, so lucky not to have crashed out. On the one hand I’m disappointed because I thought on the last three laps I was a lot stronger than the other guys. But at the end of the day I’m so happy to be on the podium because it definitely could have been a zero.”

Race incident aside, Binder lived up to his reputation as a ‘never give up’ rider who this season has also won after starting from the last position in the grid. He was particularly fast and very impressive in the final lap when he dived under both Bastianini and Fenati to finally secure his podium second. With it, he leaves Barcelona having conceded only five points in his impressive, 44-point lead in the championship.

It was an emotional weekend for the MotoGP paddock, and particularly for Binder after the fatal accident on Friday of his friend, the talented and popular Luis Salom. Binder’s Red Bull KTM Ajo team, in which the Spaniard had one of his best racing seasons in 2013, displayed a racing bike in the pit garage with Salom’s #39 and a tribute message that read: “You will always ride with us #39”.

资料提供 [ KTM ]