With a rocket start, Brad Binder surprisingly secured victory in the MotoGP sprint race in Argentina.
The KTM rider passed almost the entire field in the first corners, took the lead early and saved it from Marco Bezzecchi to the finish.
The VR46 Ducati rider finished on the podium again after finishing third in the main race at Portimao. Teammate Luca Marini, who crashed in both races a week ago, made the result perfect for VR46 in third.
The twelve laps of the race started on a dry track. The field relied on the medium rubber compound for the rear wheel, while the vast majority chose the hard tire variant at the front. The grid consisted of only 18 drivers overall, as four regular drivers are absent due to injury and will not be replaced.
Morbidelli won the start, but approached Turn 1 a little too optimistically and fell back behind pole setter Alex Marquez. Behind them, the two VR46 pilots spoke up. But Bard Binder showed the best starting phase, driving up from P15 in the first corners to the top 4.
During the course of the first lap, Morbidelli took the lead. Behind him, Binder dueled with Marquez and Marini to take second place. World Champion Francesco Bagnaia found himself fifth after the first lap.
The leading group was close together. The two Aprilias, of which Maverick Vinales in particular lost positions at the beginning, were still within striking distance.
After a small mistake by Morbidelli, Binder regained the lead. However, the KTM rider was initially unable to break away. Hard fighting ensued among the pursuers. With five laps to go, Binder was leading ahead of Morbidelli, Marini, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Marquez, Vinales, Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Martin and Fabio Quartararo. Only behind them was the first larger gap in the field.
In the closing stages, Binder was able to pull away slightly and put half a second between himself and Morbidelli, behind whom the VR46 duo was lurking. While the pair were adjusting the Yamaha, Aleix Espargaro had four laps to go. The Aprilia driver crashed at turn 9.
Once past Morbidelli, Bezzecchi set the fastest lap of the race and began to close the gap on Binder in front. The Italian came closer and put Binder under a lot of pressure. However, it was no longer enough for an overtaking manoeuvre.
At the finish, the two separated by just 0.072 seconds. In the end, Marini was no longer able to keep up and finished eight tenths behind the race winner in third place.
Morbidelli defended fourth place. Behind them, Alex Marquez, Bagnaia and Vinales fought for fifth place until the end, with Marquez narrowly beating Bagnaia. Martin and Quartararo finished eighth and ninth, securing the final championship points of the race.
Like a week ago in Portimao, the sprint for Honda driver Joan Mir was already over in the first lap. The Spaniard crashed at Turn 7 and was then taken to the Medical Centre. Best Honda driver was Takaaki Nakagami in eleventh.