Brad Binder claims victory in Moto2 in Austria

Spielberg - South African Brad Binder celebrated his 24th birthday in style on Sunday with success in the Austrian Moto2 Grand Prix.

The KTM rider was all smiles after ending a winless spell stretching back to Australia in October last year.

"I can't imagine a better day than winning on my birthday at KTM's home track," the 2016 Moto3 champion beamed.

Binder crossed the line with a 0.330 advantage over Alex Marquez, who moved on to 181 points at the top of the Moto2 championships standings, a lead of 43 points over Thomas Luthi.

Binder's success came just after Austrian manufacturer KTM had announced they were withdrawing from the Moto2 championship at the end of this season to plough all their resources into MotoGP in an initial five-year deal.

That will suit Binder, who is graduating to the premier category in 2020.

Marquez' second place on the podium was hard earned.

The brother of MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez had started from 11th on the grid but managed to avoid a series of crashes that eliminated Japan's pole sitter Tetsuta Nagashima, Spain's Xavi Vierge, Australian Remy Gardner and Italian duo Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini.

"The conditions were very difficult and treacherous with a very slippery circuit," he said.

The Moto3 race was won by Italian Romano Fenati for Honda.

Moto2 results

1. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 37min 24.963sec 2. Alex Marquez (ESP/Kalex) 0.330, 3. Jorge Navarro (ESP/Speed Up) 1.839, 4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA/Kalex) 2.183, 5. Augusto Fernandez (ESP/Kalex) 3.303,

Moto2 standings (after 12 of 19 races)

1. Alex Marquez (ESP/Kalex) 181 points, 2. Thomas Luthi (SUI/Kalex) 138 3. Jorge Navarro (ESP/Speed Up) 126 4. Augusto Fernandez (ESP/Kalex) 121 5. Lorenzo Baldassari (ITA/Kalex) 115

His first victory since Australia in 2018! ??Congratulations @BradBinder_41! ??#AustrianGP ???? pic.twitter.com/KuctAkNqWB

— MotoGP™ ???? (@MotoGP) August 11, 2019