Brad Binder was confident he could have won the British Grand Prix had the brief rain shower developed into something stronger after having made strong progress in the slippy conditions.
The KTM pilot recovered well from a sub-par sprint Saturday to move into the podium positions in the early reckoning of the race, though looked to be going backwards relative to the rapid Ducati’s and Aprilia’s out front as the race progressed.
His rostrum chances were saved though by a brief rain shower that rewarded those who were boldest, Binder moving clear of Maverick Vinales late on before pressuring the leading trio of Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira.
A late move saw him snatch away the final rostrum place away from RNF Aprilia rider Oliveira, though post race he felt had the rain come down harder a surprise victory could have been on the cards.
“It was sketchier because the rain started with around seven laps to go, and if it had really started to rain obviously that would have paid off,” said Binder post-race.
“At the time it was a case of who was willing to take the risk and it was like a yo-yo where one would go and then would come back to us because it was really hard to understand how wet the track was and how much you could push.
“We were fortunate it was only really the last sector and only a little bit in the first, other than that it was pretty straightforward.
“It was hard to read everything out there, so I’m happy and had a great time today.
Binder shared that he was satisfied to have banished the ghosts of his Dutch TT before the summer break – in which he lost a pair of podium placings due to track limits offences – to make it up to his KTM squad, though conceded he “wanted more” following his strong showing across Friday practice at Silverstone.
“It was awesome to get another podium today but I really wanted to win after my two mistakes at Assen, but the two guys in front did a great job and really deserved it,” added the South African.
“I’m really happy with the way everything’s been going recently and clearly KTM have done a great job with the bike because it’s super competitive.
“We saw on Friday we had great dry pace and we could make time on every (corner) exit, so when we saw it would be dry today I had a lot of confidence and put together some great results.
“Of course third is good, but I wanted more so we’ll see what happens next time.”
