MotoGP
Watch what happens when the South African MotoGP™ ace enlists the help of some 'interesting' local characters to help him set the fastest time at Kyalami circuit on a modern MotoGP™ bike.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Brad Binder recently took some time during the mid-season break to head home to South Africa. During his time there he set about attempting to post the fastest time of the modern era on the famous Kyalami race track in Johannesburg.
Binder has had a meteoric rise through the ranks, having debuted in the Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup in 2009 and then stepped up to Moto3™ in 2011.
He grabbed his first silverware in 2014 and claimed the 2016 world title in just his second term with Red Bull KTM Ajo (becoming South Africa’s first world champion in 36 years and just the third from his country).
From there he graduated immediately to Moto2™ with the same team. After 15 Grand Prix wins in both the Moto3™ and Moto2™ categories with the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad he made the step up to MotoGP™ with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2020.
He then seized the team’s maiden victory in the premier class during his debut term on the KTM RC16, where he also achieved the status of ‘Rookie of the Year.’
However, through it all, one thing has been hanging over him, something to put his name to in his native South Africa: a big performance at Kyalami. In Superlap – the film you can watch in the player at the top of the page – Binder – with the help of an eclectic mix of characters – sets about doing a lap of the famed track in under 1m 45s.
Local flavour
The name ‘kyalami’ (broadly translated) means ‘my home’ in Zulu, one of South Africa's official languages, so it was fitting that Binder did something spectacular 'at home.’ Those were the thoughts of renowned comedian and host Jason Goliath at least.
Driving a minibus taxi, Goliath infamously raced David Coulthard through the streets of Cape Town some years back. He's also spent some time in the co-driver seat with various high-profile drivers shooting for the series Giving it Gears, so his credentials in motorsport are, well, solid let's say. With the help of South Africa’s world champion rugby captain, Siya Kolisi, Goliath makes sure Binder doesn’t rest until he hits that target time.
A brief history of Kyalami
The original Kyalami circuit was constructed in 1961 and was soon established as the premier motorsport facility in Southern Africa. It wasn’t long before it became a regular Formula One venue and in its golden era, it was regarded as one of the 10 best Grand Prix circuits in the world.
Kyalami hosted numerous international events on its original layout until 1988. Some 18 rounds of the F1 World Championship were hosted at the circuit between 1967 and 1985, with the annual 9-Hour and 1,000km endurance races continuing from the circuit's inception until 1988. After 1988 the circuit complex underwent various changes.
With the return of the Grand Prix in 1992 and 1993, a new section of the circuit was added which housed the new (and current) pit complex and main straight. This version of the circuit was 4.246km in length, with the main straight 15m wide and the rest of the circuit 12m in width.
Just to go through turn one at this track is quite unique - there's nothing quite like it out there
Aside from F1, the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship also made a return to the revised circuit in 1992, while from 1998 to 2002 and from 2009 to 2010 Kyalami hosted rounds of the popular World Superbike Championship (WSBK).
Besides local racing and exhibitions, the track with its uniquely-named six right and nine left corners hadn't seen much action since then. Until now.
To capture just what it took to achieve this feat, the film crew employed the use of an FPV drone, a technology that’s become commonplace in filming other ‘slower’ sports, and one that makes the visual experience of the KTM RC16 blasting around Kyalami even more mind-blowing. Strap in, sit tight and enjoy the commentary, the action and the laughs.
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