After Gresini Racing, which opened the MotoGP presentations for the 2022 season around a week ago, This Monday it was the turn of the brand new WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team to make its introduction. The structure, which replaces the Petronas Yamaha SRT this year, already displays solid ambitions, what's more with a promising duo of riders combining the enthusiasm of youth (Darryn binder) to the experience of maturity: Andrea Dovizioso.
The first mentioned will nevertheless have the difficult task of silencing the critics as the South African prepares to make the big leap from Moto3 to MotoGP. It’s quite simple, only one pilot has so far achieved such a feat: Jack Miller in 2015. The Australian should thus constitute a first-rate reference for Brad's younger brother, who just celebrated his 24th birthday last Friday, but Darryn will also be able to count on the experience of his teammate.
Arriving in Grands Prix in 2015, the rookie has only won once so far, it was in Catalonia in 2020. And despite two new podiums last year for Petronas Sprinta Racing, the number 40 was guilty of some big blunders, the most notable of which took place during the penultimate round, in the Algarve, when he collided with one of the title contenders, Dennis Foggia.
Enough to make people talk in the paddock about the premature nature of Darryn Binder's arrival in MotoGP, the latter being often portrayed as a rider not yet mature enough to evolve safely in the premier category. One thing is certain: the person concerned will therefore be keen this year to prove the critics wrong.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the South African driver, impatient to make his debut in the premier category during testing at Sepang on February 5.
As usual, we report here the words of Darryn binder without any formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Darryn, it's good to finally see you in MotoGP. That being said, there has been a lot of talk about you moving straight from Moto3 to the premier class, just as was the case with Jack Miller in the past. How did you prepare for this season, both to perform well and to deal with the criticism from certain people who consider your arrival in the discipline premature?
« For me it's a dream come true, because everyone wants to ride MotoGP, so when you have an opportunity like this coming up you just can't turn it down. This is the greatest opportunity I have ever had in my life. That said, I know that my arrival here has provoked mixed feelings and very different comments from different people, but let's say things as they are: I would have been stupid to refuse the unique opportunity that was offered to me to drive in the premier category.
So I took this chance and I intend to give it my best. I'm really happy to be coming to MotoGP, and I don't care about the criticism. I don't need a mental coach as was suggested to me. I am a fulfilled person, and regarding all the bullshit that can be said, I wash my hands of it. I must say that I am approaching this season as I have approached all the others so far. Of course, I changed a few things regarding my training, and I tried to raise my level of play in several areas. But I haven't fundamentally changed my approach to racing, because in the end we are still talking about motorcycle racing, as before. »
“This is the greatest opportunity I have ever had in my life”
We have just mentioned the criticisms from fans, but some are also made by the media as well as by drivers you will meet on the track this season. Do you have a plan to try to make things easier in the paddock? Maybe go meet your opponents and take the initiative to make presentations?
« In the end I'm just going to do my job, which is to get on the bike and do my best. Of course, I would love to leave all the bad stories behind me and start from scratch, but it's a difficult thing to do and at the end of last year I ended up making a big mistake.
So I'm just going to get on the bike and try to do the best I can while staying away from any problems. With this in mind, I hope that I will have some great races as well as some great battles with the other guys. Afterwards, whether others like me or not doesn't change much for me, because in the end it's every man for himself on the track. Of course, I am not closed to conversation, on the contrary I think I am an affable person. As for the media, I think everything that happened last year was blown out of proportion. »
“Whether others like me or not, it doesn't change much for me, because in the end it's every man for himself on the track”
You just stated that you adjusted your preparation this year. Can you explain to us in more detail what you have changed compared to previous years?
« The first thing I changed was the way I ate because I wasn't very happy with my weight. Apart from that, when I returned to South Africa I started a new training program with a new trainer: I actually focused on the physique because I wanted to gain more strength to be able to tame well. the MotoGP, which is a more imposing, heavier machine than any I have ridden so far. I also tried to work on myself to be able to get the most out of myself, and thus arrive at the start of the season as strong as possible. »
When we came to offer you a MotoGP handlebar, you must have asked yourself “why me?” » ?
« I was simply overexcited! I didn't ask any questions and just said I was ready to take the plunge! Afterwards, knowing why I was chosen over another, I think it's a question linked to management. My basic plan was to stay in Moto3 with Petronas and try to climb the ranks one by one with them. Now I have to seize the opportunity given to me and make the most of it, and I have to prove that they were right to choose me. »
“I have to prove that they were right to choose me”
“The first person you have to beat is your teammate”, we often say in the racing world, but in your case you have a brother who is already playing in MotoGP. Can we consider that he will become your number 1 opponent?
« 100% ! We will already see how the first race goes, but beating him is clearly one of my goals. »
How do you feel about driving opposite your brother?
« It's really going to be incredible to compete against my brother on the track. We raced against each other before a few years ago in South Africa when we were younger. Subsequently we also spent two years together in Moto3, but we were not evolving at the same level because I was just arriving in the category and I had a lot to learn. In fact, I can't say that we have ever fought like rags on the track. So I'm going to try to put myself at his level in order to be able to fight against him, it would really be something special. »
You will team up this year with the driver who is now the most experienced on the grid, namely Andrea Dovizioso. Given the choice, would you prefer to seek advice from him or from your brother?
« If I have questions about the settings of the bike or about the management of the race, I think I will turn more to Andrea, for the simple reason that he is in the same team as me as well as on the same motorcycle. He also has greater experience. This doesn't mean that I won't ask my brother for anything, but we will have two very different machines in our hands, and the needs will probably not be the same. It's also a chance for me to share the garage with a guy as experienced as Andrea, and I therefore hope that I will be able to learn a lot from him. »
Razlan Razali, the boss of Yamaha RNF, explained that your direct transition from Moto3 to MotoGP was not only a big risk for the team but also for you. As you said, and we understand it well, there was no question for you to reject such a proposal anyway, but did you still have a moment of doubt when accepting the offer? ?
« It is clear that it is a huge risk to make the split between the two categories. The idea is not to reach MotoGP, but to stay there. It's true that it's a big risk, but I couldn't refuse this offer that was made to me. I have to say that it's not something that torments me more than that, because riding a motogp has been my dream throughout my life. So I'm going to do the best I can. »
We compare your career a lot with that of Jack Miller for your direct transition from Moto3 to MotoGP, but there are also a whole bunch of riders who only had a brief stint in Moto2, like Maverick Vinales ou Joan mir for example, without this penalizing them unduly. Do you consider these drivers as references in your progress?
« If we look at Jack Miller's career, it took him a while but he managed to make his mark, and as you said other riders arrived in MotoGP after only one season spent in the intermediate category. Afterwards, I always thought that I would encounter more difficulties in Moto2 than in MotoGP because of my size and my weight. So I should be more comfortable on a bigger machine. »
“Due to my height and weight, I should be more comfortable on a bigger machine”
