The announcement of Darryn Binder’s debut in MotoGP had left many perplexed, the South African rider would have moved from Moto3 to the premier class without having even played a single season in Moto2. The situation then precipitated in Portimao, where a race accident prevented Dennis Foggia from fighting for the title to the end with Pedro Acosta. The controversy overwhelmed Binder, who in 2022 made his MotoGP debut with the WithU Yamaha RNF team.
The former Petronas team, also managed by Razali, has bet on the young South African, who arrives in MotoGP riding the M1. But while waiting to see Binder in action, in the shakedown that precedes the tests in Malaysia at the beginning of February, the team has unveiled the bike that will be entrusted to him and his teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Darryn Binder will therefore have the opportunity to share the garage with the oldest and most experienced rider on the grid, so the enthusiasm to start working on the bike is palpable.
On the day the WithU Yamaha RNF team’s M1 is unveiled, Darryn Binder is smiling and motivated, ready to get to work and face his first season in MotoGP. The rookie he is determined to do well and leaves behind the opinions of those who do not consider him ready or equal to the premier class. Binder will also have his brother Brad at his side, who despite racing with a different team, will be of great help.
There have been a lot of discussions on the transition from Moto3 to MotoGP, a bit like what happened with Jack Miller. How do you approach this season and how are you preparing yourself for this difficult reception? Are you working with a mental coach to get ready?
“Obviously for me it is a dream come true. Everyone wants to race in MotoGP someday, so when the opportunity arises you can’t turn it down. It’s the biggest break I’ve ever had in my entire life, so I took it. Clearly there have been several reactions and many different comments, but when you work a lot and someone offers you such an opportunity, you can’t miss it. I’m very happy to be in MotoGP, I don’t really care what some people say. I don’t have a mental coach, I don’t really need one, I’m a perfectly happy person and I don’t deal with nonsense. I will approach this season like any other, obviously I will change something as far as training is concerned, but I did a normal off season in South Africa. In the end it is a motorcycle, with two wheels ”.
In MotoGP you will not only have fans who were against your arrival, but also some insiders and riders themselves. How will you convince your colleagues that you deserve MotoGP?
“But in the end I just have to get out on the track and do my job, which is to race and do my best. Of course I want to leave all the negative things behind and look forward. It will be difficult after last year, in which I made a mistake. But I’ll go to the track and do my best, I hope I can have good races and battles with the other riders ”.
Compared to previous years, what have you changed in your physical preparation?
“When I returned to South Africa I started a new training program with a new coach. I focused more on acquiring the physical strength to ride a bigger bike. In this sense, I’m doing more gym than I did before. I have to bring out the best in me and get as strong as I can. I have to get used to a bigger bike. I had fun during this off season, now I will be on the track for a couple of days of testing, we will work step by step “.
Those who know you say that you are a kind person. But your public image is a bit different from what people who know you describe.
“I don’t know why this happens, the people who know me know what I am like. Coming from South Africa and not knowing too many people, I keep my friends very close and it is normal for everyone to have an opinion. But I can’t be bothered by this, the people who are close to me continue to motivate me and keep my spirits high ”.
When you were offered MotoGP, did you ask yourself ‘why me’? Did you ask yourself this question?
“I didn’t ask myself that at all. I said ‘thanks, I’m ready!’. Seriously, I think this is more of a question to ask the management department. As far as I’m concerned, the original plan was to stay in Moto3 with Petronas and continue the path, go to Moto2 and then see if I could make it to MotoGP. Last year everything changed, they believed in me and gave me this opportunity and I have to make the most of it. I hope to show them that the choice they made was the right one ”.
It is said that the first opponent is your teammate. But you also have your brother in MotoGP. Will you change the saying by stating that your first opponent is your brother?
“At 100%! Eventually Brad and I run together, step by step we’ll see. But clearly this is the goal! “
What’s your feeling about running with your brother?
“It will be really amazing to run with my brother, we have been running together since we were little in South Africa. We spent two years in Moto3 together, but I was very new and had a lot of things to learn. But we have never had the opportunity to fight together at this level, so it will definitely be something special ”.
You go from Moto3 to MotoGP, but your teammate is a highly experienced rider. Will he listen to you and help you? Also do you have your brother, will you ask him questions and ask him for advice? Do you prefer to turn to Andrea Dovizioso or Brad Binder?
“If I’m looking for good information on the setup and things about MotoGP, the best person I can talk to is Andrea, because he is on the same team as me, on the same bike and has a lot of experience. Of course I can talk to my brother too, but he rides a completely different bike. Overall, it will be nice to talk to him about MotoGP in general, for example on the tires. But for my part it will be better to talk to Andrea, he is in the same box as me and our bikes are similar, I can’t wait to share the box with him and learn from Dovizioso ”.
Razali said the move was a big risk and you said you jumped at the chance right away. But was there ever a moment of doubt during the negotiations?
“It was definitely a big risk, it’s not about how fast you get to MotoGP, but how long you stay there. When you get there, you want to stay there as long as possible, but I could never have turned down an offer like that. It has always been my dream, and also that of many other people.
Everyone compares you to Jack Miller, but there have been many other riders who did little in Moto2 but did well in MotoGP, like Vinales or Mir. Do you look at them as an example?
“Looking at them, Miller skipped a step but the circumstances were different. Other riders raced in Moto2 for a year and then went strong, even thinking about Raul Fernandez. Obviously they motivate me. I think I can do it and I can go fast ”.
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