VOLUME 57 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2020 P115
KTM'S FIRST
If the first two rounds saw a familiar face up
front, round three gave us a victory no one ex-
pected. South African Brad Binder, former Moto3
World Champion, is widely regarded as a star of
the MotoGP future, and he showed why there's
such promise by storming through the pack to
take his and KTM's first MotoGP victory from
Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco.
By now, Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki) was back on
form after mangling his shoulder in a crash during
qualifying at the opening round at Jerez, going
on to claim fourth in Brno as he began to build a
championship charge.
For championship leader Quartararo, Brno
signaled the start of a downward spiral in his title
hopes. Seventh place, followed by eighth at the
opening Austrian round, 13th the next week at
Austria 2, a DNF at Misano 1, recovering slightly to
fourth at Misano 2 and finally a win in Barcelona
that put him somewhat back on track.
The first Austrian race, round four, saw the
second big talking point of 2020. With 20 laps
to go, ninth-and-10th placed Franco Morbidelli
and Johann Zarco collided at the fastest part of
the Red Bull Ring. At close to top speed entering
turn three, Morbidelli's Yamaha tumbled along the
edge of the track, and in a stroke of sheer luck,
split the two factory Yamahas of Maverick Vinales
and Valentino Rossi in what could have been a fa-
tal encounter had it made contact. Vinales wasn't
out of the woods yet, as Zarco's exploding Ducati
grazed the top of his Arai helmet. It was one of the
most spectacular and potentially tragic accidents
ever seen in MotoGP, and the fact no one was
seriously injured was nothing short of a miracle.
BEGINNING OF THE END?
The Austrian race also signaled what may prove
Brad Binder came storming
through the pack like a
tornado to win round three
at Brno, his and KTM's first
MotoGP victory.
Marquez
controversially made
a comeback barely six
days after smashing
his arm. It was
fruitless and proved
extremely damaging
to his health.
