Brad Binder has one hand on the Moto3 world championship after winning a sensational Moto3 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The South African saw off polesitter Francesco Bagnaia and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Bo Bendsneyder in a final lap scrap and with Jorge Navarro crashing out, Binder now has an 86 point championship lead.
A leading group of twelve had formed after a frenetic opening couple of laps but a number of surprise names had forced their way into contention. Navarro’s presence shouldn’t have been a surprise but given his sixth row grid slot, the championship challenger had work to do off the line. That was nothing compared to Fabio Di Giannantonio and Mahindra wildcard Stefano Manzi who had leapt forward from 24th and 34th respectively to join the fray at the front.
Manzi had stunned everyone with his astonishing progress and the Italian made his presence felt in an incident on the penultimate lap which accounted for Navarro. With several riders battling for the same piece of race track, Navarro found himself squeezed by the no.62 and high-sided, sending him into Andrea Migno’s Sky VR46 KTM and eliminating both on the spot.
The collision caused a split in the leading group with three riders on the right side of it, giving them a small break heading into the last lap. Bendsneyder led across the line but was soon engulfed by Binder and Bagnaia down the Hangar Straight as the championship hit the front decisively. Although Bo briefly regained second with a brave move around the outside of Vale, Bagnaia fought back at Brooklands to split the Red Bull Ajo KTMs at the chequered flag.
Manzi emerged from the chaos to take a phenomenal fourth while Nicolo Bulega set the fastest lap last time around to snatch fifth from Di Giannantonio. Niccolo Antonelli and Enea Bastianini failed to convert their lofty grid positions into strong results, finishing seventh and eighth respectively, while Spanish rookies Aron Canet and Joan Mir rounded out the top ten.
