Darryn Binder 23-year-old Darryn Binder will be a MotoGP rider next year. FIle picture: AFP.
It’s official. South Africa’s Darryn Binder is set to join his brother Brad in the top-tier MotoGP championship in 2022.
Joining the Yamaha’s rebranded RNF MotoGP satellite team alongside Andrea Dovizioso, Darryn will become the second rider to make the jump from Moto3 to MotoGP without competing in the Moto2 championship.
“I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, as it has been a lifelong dream to race in the MotoGP category,” Darryn said following the announcement on Thursday. “I definitely didn’t expect to make the jump straight from Moto3 to the highest class, but I do believe I’m up for the challenge, and I‘m ready to put in all the hard work for 2022.
“My target at the beginning will be just to find my feet in the big class and learn as much as possible to get stronger and stronger throughout my rookie season.”
Yamaha managing director Lin Jarvis said the primary mission of the satellite team would be to develop future MotoGP talents. But why did they pick Darren?
“We‘ve had many conversations about who would be a good match for the new RNF MotoGP Team set-up,” Jarvis said. “It‘s a fresh start for the Yamaha satellite team and that makes it all the more fitting to have a young and eager rider like Darryn join them, as Fabio and Franky did before him.”
“Darryn has already shown on numerous occasions what he‘s made of in the Moto3 class. We know he is a fast and determined rider who has got what it takes to battle at the front of the pack. Obviously, the step up to MotoGP is significant and will take some adjusting, but we feel that he‘s ready, and Yamaha and the RNF MotoGP Team will fully support him for this new and exciting challenge,” Jarvis concluded.
Darryn currently rides for Petronas Sprinta Racing, but he has not had the best start to 2021, and lies sixth in the 2021 championship. The 23-year-old achieved his first Moto3 win at the Barcelona Grand Prix in September last year, and has been on six podiums since joining MotoGP. However, it appears that Darryn could be quite comfortable on the bigger MotoGP bike, given that he enjoyed a successful test ride on Yamaha’s R1 superbike in Brno in August.