Binder: “I didn’t deserve Long Lap, was robbed of opportunity to score points”

An incident that took place before turn one was even completed saw Binder and Alex Marquez make contact before the latter crashed out of Ducati’s home MotoGP round.

Marquez, who ran wide at turn one was attempting to come back onto the racing line, however, Binder was on his inside with nowhere to go as Alex Rins was also to the inside of his KTM machine.

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Three-wide, Binder was the meat in the sandwich as he made contact with Marquez which resulted in the Spaniard crashing out.

But when speaking about the stewards decision to penalise him, something that cost the South African a points finish, Binder was less left fuming.

"100%! I don’t think I deserved a Long Lap by any means," said Binder. "I turned in and was following the track as normal and I felt a knock on my outside. 

"At the end of the day I don’t think I deserved a Long Lap. To me they robbed me of an opportunity to score points today. 

"When I got the Long Lap I didn’t actually know why. I thought that maybe I’d been touching the green somewhere. 

"When I stopped my team told me that Alex crashed at turn one but I was turning right and was where I should be. 

"I don’t know where they wanted me to go. I don’t know. I think they rushed the decision and it’s unfortunate because it cost me points."

While Binder ended the race scoreless, he did manage to break the all-time top speed record.

Binder set a top speed of over 366kmph (227.4mph) and was able to make passes as a result of KTM’s impressive speed. 

Binder added: "My bike is fast. I can pass people at the end of the straight. That’s one thing I can keep in my pocket. 

"My bike was working well but there are some small things I want to improve for tomorrow. 

"The team has done an amazing job and I think we were in for a good result today. On the last lap my time was the same as the front guys."