Moto2™: Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) earns a third win of the season.

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Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) claimed his third win of the season as he took the chequered flag by 0.036 from second place Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) at the Michelin® Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, with Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) snatching a maiden podium away from Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40) at the line by 0.008 – a brilliant battle on the Island in the intermediate class that saw neither Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) or Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) challenge at the front.

There was drama before the race had even begun as P2 on the grid Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) encountered a problem with his bike and although he eventually got it going, the German had to line up on the back of the grid. As the lights went out it was pole man Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) who launched well to grab the holeshot, but Vierge soon cut his way through to the lead from P3 on the grid, with Binder, Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors) and Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) slotting in behind.

Pasini’s race wouldn’t last long though, a crash at Turn 4 on lap 2 for the Italian ended his hopes of a second podium of the year. Meanwhile, Bagnaia had initially made significant progress from P16 on the grid to get as high as P6, but the Championship leader soon dropped back to outside the top ten, along with title rival Oliveira.

Back at the front, a lead group of eight has formed. Lecuona was looking strong but the young Spaniard then crashed out at Turn 2 on lap 7 and then, looking good for a home round rostrum challenge, Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) lost the front at Turn 10 lap 13 – heartache for the Australian.

The lead was chopping and changing lap by lap, particularly between Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) and Vierge. With five to go, it was a group of six at the front, all of which looked menacing. However, Baldassarri’s race would end prematurely at Turn 10 after the Italian got his Kalex machine out of shape under braking and with grass and slick tyres not a good mix, Baldassarri went down and out of contention. And so, heading onto the last lap, there were five riders in contention. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) made a sweeping move to go from fifth to third at Turn 1 as Binder led the way from Mir. Turn 4 then saw Marini run wide and out of podium contention, with Fernandez and Vierge also getting out of sorts on the exit to leave the battle for the win between Binder and Mir.

Mir wasn’t close enough at his particular strong point: Turn 10, but on the exit of Turn 11 Binder lit up the rear of his KTM. A run to the line then followed but the South African had just enough edge out the Spaniard – the 2016 and 2017 Moto3™ Champions going head-to-head. Vierge won the race to the line with Fernandez, with Marini taking P5. Aegerter would eventually finish 2.4 back from the win after being in the leading group throughout, with Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) P7 after being unable to cling on to the front runners. 2018 European Moto2™ Champion Jesko Raffin (SAG Team) earned a P8 at Phillip Island – a very solid ride from the Swiss rider.

Schrötter produced a phenomenal comeback ride to end the Australian GP in ninth, with Fabio Quartararo (MB Conveyors – Speed Up) rounding out the top ten. Then came the two title protagonists: Oliveira P11, Bagnaia in P12. A strange race for both as neither could penetrate the top ten, the Championship moves onto Malaysia with Bagnaia holding a 36-point advantage.

Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) and Edgar Pons (MB Conveyors – Speed Up) complete the points in a top 15 that was separated by 14.076 seconds – the fifth closest top 15 in Moto2™/250 history.

Jules Danilo (Nashi Argan SAG Team), Isaac Viñales (Forward Racing Team), Federico Fuligni (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2), Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Xavi Cardelus (Marinelli Snipers Team) crashed – riders ok.

So the Moto2™ riders Championship continues for another race, but Kalex claimed a sixth constructors title. A second match point for Bagnaia now awaits, can he and Oliveira challenge at the front again in at Sepang?

MICHELIN® AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX

Moto2 Race Classification 2018.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	41	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	169.3	39’23.427
2	20	36	Joan MIR	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	169.3	+0.036
3	16	97	Xavi VIERGE	SPA	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	169.3	+0.949
4	13	40	Augusto FERNANDEZ	SPA	Pons HP40	Kalex	169.3	+0.957
5	11	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	169.2	+1.767
6	10	77	Dominique AEGERTER	SWI	Kiefer Racing	KTM	169.2	+2.482
7	9	73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	169.1	+3.759
8	8	2	Jesko RAFFIN	SWI	SAG Team	Kalex	169.0	+4.850
9	7	23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	168.9	+6.250
10	6	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	MB Conveyors – Speed Up	Speed Up	168.8	+7.453
11	5	44	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	168.7	+8.675
12	4	42	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	168.6	+9.725
13	3	45	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	168.6	+9.787
14	2	22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	168.5	+11.209
15	1	57	Edgar PONS	SPA	MB Conveyors – Speed Up	Speed Up	168.3	+14.076
16		89	Khairul Idham PAWI	MAL	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	168.2	+15.350
17		4	Steven ODENDAAL	RSA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	168.2	+15.396
18		16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	167.7	+23.230
19		24	Simone CORSI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	166.9	+33.736
20		5	Andrea LOCATELLI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	166.4	+42.324
21		67	Bryan STARING	AUS	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	165.7	+52.297
22		7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	Pons HP40	Kalex	164.9	+1’03.888
Not Classified
		18	Xavi CARDELUS	AND	Marinelli Snipers Team	Kalex	164.1	11 Laps
		87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	164.6	12 Laps
		9	Jorge NAVARRO	SPA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	167.2	17 Laps
		27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	168.0	19 Laps
		21	Federico FULIGNI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	163.8	19 Laps
		95	Jules DANILO	FRA	Nashi Argan SAG Team	Kalex	163.7	21 Laps
		32	Isaac VIÑALES	SPA	Forward Racing Team	Suter	162.2	21 Laps
		54	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	158.7	24 Laps

Moto2 World Standing 2018.

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Francesco BAGNAIA	Kalex	ITA	288
2	Miguel OLIVEIRA	KTM	POR	252
3	Brad BINDER	KTM	RSA	193
4	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	Kalex	ITA	152
5	Joan MIR	Kalex	SPA	149
6	Alex MARQUEZ	Kalex	SPA	148
7	Marcel SCHROTTER	Kalex	GER	131
8	Xavi VIERGE	Kalex	SPA	126
9	Luca MARINI	Kalex	ITA	122
10	Fabio QUARTARARO	Speed Up	FRA	117
11	Mattia PASINI	Kalex	ITA	115
12	Iker LECUONA	KTM	SPA	60
13	Jorge NAVARRO	Kalex	SPA	55
14	Sam LOWES	KTM	GBR	48
15	Simone CORSI	Kalex	ITA	47
16	Andrea LOCATELLI	Kalex	ITA	41
17	Dominique AEGERTER	KTM	SWI	40
18	Augusto FERNANDEZ	Kalex	SPA	37
19	Remy GARDNER	Tech 3	AUS	29
20	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	Kalex	JPN	23
21	Romano FENATI	Kalex	ITA	14
22	Hector BARBERA	Kalex	SPA	10
23	Jesko RAFFIN	Kalex	SWI	9
24	Stefano MANZI	Suter	ITA	8
25	Danny KENT	Speed Up	GBR	8
26	Isaac VIÑALES	Suter	SPA	7
27	Joe ROBERTS	NTS	USA	5
28	Bo BENDSNEYDER	Tech 3	NED	2
29	Khairul Idham PAWI	Kalex	MAL	1
30	Edgar PONS	Speed Up	SPA	1
31	Steven ODENDAAL	NTS	RSA	1
32	Niki TUULI	Kalex	FIN	1
33	Thitipong WAROKORN	Kalex	THA
34	Eric GRANADO	Suter	BRA
35	Jules DANILO	Kalex	FRA
36	Hector GARZO	Tech 3	SPA
37	Lukas TULOVIC	KTM	GER
38	Federico FULIGNI	Kalex	ITA
39	Bryan STARING	Tech 3	AUS
40	Xavi CARDELUS	Kalex	AND
41	Alejandro MEDINA	Kalex	SPA
42	Sheridan MORAIS	Kalex	POR
43	Dimas EKKY PRATAMA	Honda	INA
44	Corentin PEROLARI	Transformiers	FRA
45	Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN	Kalex	MAL
46	Cedric TANGRE	Tech 3	FRA

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of Red Bull Media