Sachsenring Moto2: Binder holds off Mir for first win

Former Moto3 champion Binder, who will stay with the Ajo KTM team in Moto2 next year, leapt from 10th on the grid to sixth on the first lap, and then formed a breakway trio out front with Mir and Luca Marini.

VR46 rider Marini - the half-brother of Valentino Rossi - converted his second-placed grid slot into an early lead, as fellow front row starters Mattia Pasini and Francesco Bagnaia both hit trouble.

Pasini crashed exiting the final corner on the second lap, and points leader Bagnaia was forced on to the gravel in avoidance, dropping down towards the rear.

That meant Marini led Mir, up from eighth on the grid, and Binder by the end of lap three, before Mir attacked and took the lead heading into Turn 1 on the fifth lap.

Mir's spell out front proved short-lived however, as Binder picked off Marini on lap 10 and then found a way by the Suzuki MotoGP signing on the same tour.

From there, Binder was able to stretch out a half-second advantage, with Mir and Marini exchanging second position back and forth over the next few laps.

While Mir made some minor inroads on Binder in the closing laps, he was powerless to prevent the South African from grabbing a first win in the intermediate class.

Marc VDS rider Mir was forced to turn his attentions to fending off Marini, hanging on by a tenth.

Behind the lead trio, Binder's teammate Miguel Oliveira recovered to fourth place after a first-lap tangle with Xavi Vierge (Intact Kalex) cost him valuable places.

With Bagnaia only able to finish 12th, it means the Italian's lead in the standings is cut to seven points.

Sam Lowes (CGBM KTM) overcame Marcel Schrotter (Intact) in the closing stages to grab fifth, while Vierge was able to make his way back to seventh.

Completing the top 10 were Simone Corsi (Tasca Kalex), Jorge Navarro (Gresini Kalex) and another candidate for a 2019 MotoGP move, Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up).

Alex Marquez (Marc VDS) was in the lead fight in the early laps but ended up falling to 13th, while Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons Kalex) was one of several riders to crash out.

Race results:

Pos.	#	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	41	Brad Binder	KTM	39'46.306
2	36	Joan Mir	Kalex	0.779
3	10	Luca Marini	Kalex	0.933
4	44	Miguel Oliveira	KTM	2.143
5	22	Sam Lowes	KTM	6.376
6	23	Marcel Schrotter	Kalex	6.513
7	97	Xavi Vierge	Kalex	15.544
8	24	Simone Corsi	Kalex	15.674
9	20	Fabio Quartararo	Speed Up	16.004
10	9	Jorge Navarro	Kalex	16.005
11	87	Remy Gardner	Tech 3	16.596
12	42	Francesco Bagnaia	Kalex	17.304
13	73	Alex Marquez	Kalex	17.458
14	77	Dominique Aegerter	KTM	18.138
15	40	Augusto Fernandez	Kalex	23.816
16	13	Romano Fenati	Kalex	24.611
17	89	Khairul Idham Pawi	Kalex	25.617
18	4	Steven Odendaal	NTS	28.019
19	27	Iker Lecuona	KTM	28.173
20	64	Bo Bendsneyder	Tech 3	36.398
21	51	Eric Granado	Suter	40.199
22	16	Joe Roberts	NTS	41.509
23	21	Federico Fuligni	Kalex	1'04.024
24	18	Xavi Cardelus	Kalex	1 lap
25	62	Stefano Manzi	Suter	7 laps
Ret	32	Isaac Viñales	Kalex	12 laps
Ret	52	Danny Kent	Speed Up	21 laps
Ret	45	Tetsuta Nagashima	Kalex	24 laps
Ret	7	Lorenzo Baldassarri	Kalex	26 laps
Ret	54	Mattia Pasini	Kalex	27 laps
Ret	5	Andrea Locatelli	Kalex	27 laps
NS	95	Jules Danilo	Kalex	-