The other Austria 'shock' with major repercussions in MotoGP

Brad Binder’s brave decision to remain on slicks for the final three laps of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix while the rain fell on the Red Bull Ring ultimately delivered one of the most unexpected results for some time in MotoGP.

The KTM rider somehow kept his RC16 upright as his front brake and tyre cooled to a near-useless point by the final lap, his 28th and final tour some 15 seconds slower than second-place finisher Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati as he picked off nine riders following a late stop for his wet bike.

Before this point Binder had been suffering a “horrendous” afternoon as he battled a lack of rear grip from his medium Michelin tyre. Ambitions of a home podium for KTM seemed remote as he circulated down in eighth for much of the race, until the sudden downpour appearing on lap 22 opened the door to one of the most remarkable wins in MotoGP history.

The late rainfall completely turned the race on its head. Bagnaia, Honda’s Marc Marquez and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo had been the breakaway leading trio set to duke it out for victory, but only one of them actually reached the podium. A crash for Marquez at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap ended his hopes, the Honda rider coming away with just one point after remounting to finish 15th.

Quartararo ran off track up at Turn 3 on his first lap out of the pits, and would run off again at Turn 1 in the fallen Marquez's wake as he scrabbled for grip on his wet tyres (the Frenchman admitting earlier in the Austrian GP weekend that he has “a problem we can’t fix” on the Yamaha in wet conditions). He crossed the line seventh behind Tech3’s Iker Lecuona and Avintia rookie Luca Marini – both denied maiden podiums on the final lap having also ‘done a Binder’.

Seventh was a result that belied the genuinely incredible ride Quartararo had put on in the dry part of the race as he fought through Yamaha’s top speed deficit to keep up with the faster Ducatis and Honda of Marquez around him in the lead battle.

Quartararo was firmly in the lead fight before the rain came

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Despite only coming away with a seventh in the Austrian GP, in the space of a week Quartararo has swelled his championship lead from 34 coming into the Styrian GP to 47 after a second race at arguably Yamaha’s weakest circuit on the 2021 calendar. The significance of this cannot be overstated, and it was clearly in the back of Quartararo’s mind as the rain began to fall late on.

“It’s the first time this year that I was thinking a little bit about the championship, I want to be honest,” Quartararo said when asked by Autosport what his strategy was when it came to the bike swap. “I have a lot of risk and I didn’t want to make a stupid crash. I nearly had one in Turn 1 when Marc crashed, you can see on the TV that I almost touched him.

“Yes, it was the moment to think about the championship. We arrived with a 34-point lead at this track, we leave with 47. We take an advantage and I think we didn’t expect that. Now our points [position] is quite good in the championship, so I want to keep going in that way.”

Before the rain Quartararo, running second, race leader Bagnaia and Marquez in third had broken away by well over a second to the rest of the pack. The fact Quartararo was in a position to win a race at the Red Bull Ring, he admits, was “incredible” for Yamaha

Red Bull Ring was a nightmare for Yamaha in 2020. Quartararo managed just an eighth and 13th from the double-header, as Yamaha's riders battled a lack of traction from the rear of the bike and a lack of power from its detuned engines - following the legality and reliability issues it faced in the Spanish GP at the start of the season.

The 2021 M1 has improved vastly over its predecessor, its traction much better and a stronger front end that means Quartararo is no longer such easy prey in a straightline. This was evidenced in Quartararo’s defence of second place over Marquez for a handful of laps before the rain, and his sensational double overtake on Jorge Martin and Bagnaia at Turn 3 on lap 23.

Before the rain Quartararo, running second, race leader Bagnaia and Marquez in third had broken away by well over a second to the rest of the pack. The fact Quartararo was in a position to win a race at the Red Bull Ring, he admits, was “incredible” for Yamaha.

A double-header at the Red Bull Ring presented a number of Quartararo’s rivals with a big opportunity to quell the march he’d stolen in the first half of the season with his four victories. A stronghold for Ducati since 2016, immediate rivals Johann Zarco and Bagnaia needed to take at least one win.

Quartararo's defence against Marquez showcased the improvements in Yamaha's package

Photo by: Dorna

But tyre problems for Bagnaia in the Styrian GP left him 11th, while sixth and a crash for Zarco was wholly underwhelming – not least when you consider his rookie Pramac team-mate Martin won the Styrian GP and finished third after his stop for the wet bike in the second race.

Reigning world champion Joan Mir and the Suzuki went well at Red Bull Ring in 2020. With his GSX-RR sporting the long-needed ride height device, second in the Styrian GP was exactly what he needed, and salvaging fourth in the Austrian GP meant he beat Quartararo in both events. Yet his deficit to the championship leader only shrunk by eight points from 55 to 47 between both races.

The championship battle is by no means over, but Quartararo’s momentum has not been arrested at Yamaha’s weakest venue. So, what can his rivals do to stop him edging ahead at Yamaha-suited tracks like Silverstone, Aragon and Misano coming up in the next few weeks?

Mir believes these next races are a crucial phase of the championship as, now Quartararo has a healthy lead, the pressure on Yamaha's figurehead will increase as he is expected to defend and extend his advantage.

“Well, Fabio now I think will start a different championship,” said Mir, now joint second in the championship with Bagnaia. “I think in the next three races we will start to see a different championship. Even if he has a considerable distance [in the standings], now I think the pressure will start every race to be higher. It’s always difficult for a rider to manage that pressure.

“Also, probably all the pressure of Yamaha now is against him, and this is something last year that was not like this. He’s doing really well, but for sure now the pressure is much higher, so let’s see.”

Quartararo’s response to this was telling of where his mind is in the current championship battle: “That makes no change for me, that race I had all the weight of Yamaha on my shoulders (as the sole factory Yamaha rider in the Austrian GP after Maverick Vinales was suspended by the team) and it didn’t change nothing in the race.

Quartararo rejected Mir's claims that he'll face more pressure now

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I think that’s a small strategy to try to put pressure on me. But it’s not affecting me, and I think it’s a funny game, but I will be there to fight for victory at Silverstone.”

The Frenchman added that – although thoughts of the championship emerged in the closing stages of the Austrian GP – he was “totally not thinking about” his title situation as he battled hard in the dry part of the race.

Quartararo has spoken openly about his mental management this year after his 2020 title charge crumbled spectacularly, one of the biggest problems last year his inability to remain measured during tough moments. It’s now clear this issue has been totally eradicated

“I’m feeling race-by-race and I think it’s so important for the future,” he said. “Every time I go on the bike I feel like I need to improve and be faster, and not just look at the standings, to go slowly [to protect the championship lead], to look at my rivals. So, I think this was so important.”

Quartararo has spoken openly about his mental management this year after his 2020 title charge crumbled spectacularly, one of the biggest problems last year his inability to remain measured during tough moments. It’s now clear this issue has been totally eradicated.

Yamaha test rider and Petronas SRT stand-in Cal Crutchlow (who may well end up as Quartararo’s team-mate at the factory squad for the rest of the year if Vinales and Yamaha don’t reconcile) says Quartararo isn’t doing anything special on the M1 to extract the performances out of it he has been in 2021.

That in itself should be cause for concern for Quartararo’s title rivals, let alone the fact he’s gained 13 points to extend his championship lead to almost two race wins after back-to-back races at Yamaha’s weakest venue.

While the 2021 Austrian GP will rightly be remembered for Binder’s slick tyre heroics in wet conditions to take a stunning victory, it could well also come to be the day when the 2021 title was decided…

Has Quartararo already laid one glove on the title?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images