I’m sitting in the Red Bull KTM hospitality unit, awaiting the arrival of Brad Binder, the first South African in seven decades of Grand Prix racing to win a premier class GP.
Binder walks in, makes a beeline for the drinks fridge and takes out a bottle of water.
“Would you like a water, bro?” he asks.
“Yes, thanks,” I reply.
“Still or sparkling?” he asks.
In 35 years of chasing motorcycle racers around the world I don’t think I’ve been treated so well by a rider. Not even by the late, great Nicky Hayden, a true gentleman of the racetrack.
“It’s funny,” I say. “Because I was going ask you about this: you’re probably the politest GP rider I’ve ever known.”
Binder grins. “I think I was born later than I should’ve been – things are little bit more old school for me,” he explains.
The 27-year-old is old school on track, too. He is all-attack, charging down the inside, stealing the apex from whoever’s in his way.
During this year’s MotoGP world championship no one has passed as many riders during races as Binder. No one seems to have told him that it’s just about impossible to overtake in MotoGP these days, thanks to new tech like downforce aerodynamics and shapeshifters. During the first 17 races he made more than