Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Johannesburg has been making headlines of late. Many of those articles are based on pure hearsay. With that in mind, here is some proper news as South African Brad Binder returns home to set a new lap record at SA’s most famous racetrack.

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Rising star

Binder cemented his name in world motorsport when he won the Moto3 championship. He progressed through the ranks and debuted in the top-flight MotoGP championship in 2020. He rocked the establishment by taking his first win in his debut season on the less-favoured KTM MotoGP machine.

Now Brad Binder returns home to South Africa to set a new benchmark lap time at the revised Kyalami circuit where no official track record for a modern era MotoGP bike has been established – until now. The current best known time on a motorcycle stands at 1 min 48,078 sec.

Click here to read about our exclusive interview with SA GP CEO, Warren Scheckter, about the current status of a potential Formula One race taking place in SA.

Record-breaker

Speaking to media at a press conference Binder said: “I am really excited to be back home. It has always been a childhood dream of mine to ride a MotoGP bike in my home country. My goal is to set a new benchmark around Kyalami on a MotoGP bike, and I believe that I can achieve this.”

Commenting after his laps: “It was cool to ride the MotoGP bike at Kyalami, the track is special, unique and there is nothing quite like it out there. I’m excited to ride at home and set a new benchmark”.

As for racing on local soil: “It would be amazing to have a home Grand Prix here,” said the 26-year-old. “It is something that I really look forward to and something that I believe will happen in the future. This track is amazing.”

Read more about the investment carried out to the famous facility to bring it into the new age by clicking this link.

The lap time achieved by Binder has not yet been made official. We expect an announcement around the middle of August, in just a few weeks from now.