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SA motorsport wrap | Binder, Van der Linde and Aberdein in action in Europe

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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 22: Brad Binder of South Africa and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rounds the bend during the MotoGP Of Styria Qualifying at Red Bull Ring on August 22, 2020 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 22: Brad Binder of South Africa and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rounds the bend during the MotoGP Of Styria Qualifying at Red Bull Ring on August 22, 2020 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)

• Brad Binder finished in eighth place at the Styrian Grand Prix. 

• In Germany, Sheldon van der Linde and Jonathan Aberdein competed in the fourth round of DTM. 

• Aberdein performed well and finished seventh. 

South African motorsport stars Brad Binder, Sheldon van der Linde, and Jonathan Aberdein were in action this weekend. Binder raced in Spielberg, Austria for the second consecutive weekend and achieved fourth and eight-place finishes respectively. 

The South African scored his first MotoGP win at the Czech Republic Grand Prix on 9 August, the 25-year-old factory KTM rider sits in fourth place in the riders' standings. 

MotoGP 

Binder started in 12th place on the grid and was running as high as sixth position before Maverick Viñales' brakes failed and his bike crashed into the barrier at Turn 1 and brought out the red flag. 

The KTM rider failed to take advantage at the restart and a few errors towards the end of the race that saw the Potchefstroom-born rider finish in eighth place. 

The rookie will look forward to the next race knowing that reigning champion Marc Marquez has been ruled out for at least two to three months and that he has an outside chance of fighting for the title. 

MotoGP takes a two-break before the San Marino GP on 13 September. 

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 22: Brad Binder of Sou

Image: Getty Images

DTM 

Moving from two wheels to four, and over the Austrian border in Germany Sheldon van der Linde and Jonathan Aberdein race at the Lausitzring in DTM. 

Van der Linde made history a on 16 August when he became the first South African to score a podium finish in DTM. He crossed the line in second place after qualifying in fourth place at the Lausitzring. 

Van der Linde wasn't able to replicate that form at the same track. Aberdein was the best placed South African this time around. He crossed the finish line in seventh place in the M4 DTM while Van der Linde managed tenth position and also finished in the points. 

Lausitzring (GER), 23rd August 2020. BMW M Motorsp

Image: BMW Press

Aberdein said: "Qualifying was disappointing but I am very pleased with our performance in the race. I think we did really well. Sometimes I had the feeling that I had the fastest car on the track. We have to do a bit better in qualifying and then we have a chance of winning."

The result saw Aberdein climb to 12th place in the drivers' standings after three events. The next race in Assen, Netherlands in the first weekend of September. Van der Linde sits in 10th place in the drivers' standings on 29 points with six events in the season remaining. 

Commenting  on his performance Van der Linde said: "I really lost a lot of time at the start. That was very disappointing and I don’t know exactly what happened. We will have to take a look at that. It really is very annoying, after starting from fourth place. The car went really well today."

It's impressive to watch our local boys battle against some of the world's best touring drivers such as Rene Rast, Marco Wittmann and Nico Muller. 

Both Van der Linde and Aberdein compete for the works team, and have performed incredibly well. Be sure to catch all the DTM action streamed on their Youtube channel

Lausitzring (GER), 23rd August 2020. BMW M Motorsp

Image: BMW Press

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