Red Bull KTM factory Racing’s Brad Binder rode an all-conquering race to take victory at the Czech Grand prix this afternoon.

The 24-year-old South African was able to restrain the other riders in a staggering display of bike control, pushing the limits of physics as he wrestled his KTM around the Czech track.

The win was achieved at his third ever MotoGP race.

The podium standings were completed by Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco who came home in third.

The Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic plays host to Round 3 of the 2020 MotoGP championship.

At 3.3 miles in length, the track is notorious for its bumps and technical, twisty layout, throwing up many surprises over the course of the weekend as well as the race itself.

Number 93 rider Marc Marquez was sitting out of the race this weekend after undergoing a second operation to repair his broken arm caused by a crash at the season opener in Spain.

Repsol Honda’s test rider, Stefan Bradl, replaces Marquez on the number 6 bike until the Spaniard is able to return.

Hot weather tested everything from riders to tyres, something which the Pramac Racing and Factory Ducati teams had struggled with throughout Free Practice and Qualifying.

The warm-up saw SRT Petronas’ Franco Morbidelli open the session with the first fastest time aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1, however factory Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales quickly topples this with a time of 1:57.062.

Early on in the session, pole-sitter Johann Zarco on the Avintia Ducati set a time just over a second slower than Viñales, demonstrating the difference in pace between the Italian and Japanese bikes.

As the session was wrapping-up, a last-minute, all-or-nothing effort for Pol Espargaro landed him on top of the standings with Zarco finishing up 15th fastest.

Heading into the race, tyre choice was critical as a track temperature of 47°C would test the longevity of the rubber.

At lights out, the number 21 of Morbidelli had a blazing start into turn 1, sailing past pole-sitter Zarco who eventually dropped to 5th.

Further down the pack would-be-race-winner Binder went hard on the brakes and around the outside of his team-mate, Pol Espargaro.

Dovizioso’s Ducati, meanwhile, gained six places, raising him up to 12th.

By the end of the lap 3, the two SRT Yamaha’s of Morbidelli and Quartararo were first and second while Brad Binder honed in on them in 3rd place.

Team Suzuki Ecstar rider Joan Mir was in the middle of the pack in 13th, despite his strong and consistent pace earlier in the weekend.

Five laps in, the gap between Morbidelli and Quartararo was just under a second before a crash ended Joan Mir’s race.

As the Spaniard was approaching turn 13, Iker Lecuona on the Tech3 KTM dive-bombed the number 36 Suzuki rider, causing the pair to clip each other and send Joan into the gravel.

As the race continued, Valentino Rossi, who was looking to take the 200th podium finish of his career, was in 8th place, trying to fight his way up the field.

Lap 9 saw the order change again as Binder increased the pressure to Quartararo before slipping past the Frenchman into 2nd position.

A dogfight for 4th between Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro on lap 10 causes Espargaro to hit the deck in turn 1, allowing Zarco to hold onto the place.

Zarco then moved up to third on lap number 11, however the crash was investigated and Zarco was forced to do a ‘long lap’ on lap 14 for riding irresponsibly.

The penalty did not change his position and the French rider is able to continue in third.

Between the debacle, Japanese rider Takaki Nakagami passed Maverick Viñales on lap 12, just after the mid-way mark of the race.

At the half-way-through point, Morbidelli lead from Brad Binder with Zarco in 3rd, as Miguel Oliveira took Aleix Espargaro on Lap 13.

On the same lap, 2nd place rider Binder made a move down the inside of Morbidelli to take the lead.

Binder was now storming ahead of the rest of the field, as the tyre of Zarco rapidly deteriorated, sacrificing rear-end grip.

Nearing the end of the race on lap 16, Valentino Rossi had Quartararo firmly in his sights and passed him, nudging the number 21 rider into 6th place and moving him up to 5th.

The next target for the Italian veteran was the number 42 bike of Alex Rins, but he struggles to catch him and finishes the race in 5th, just two places away from his 200th podium finish.

With 3 laps left the order stayed put with Binder out in front and Morbidelli over 3.5 seconds behind and Zarco rounding up the top three.

As Binder crossed the line to start the last lap, Zarco and Rins found themselves entangled in a duel, but with Rins unable to make the pass, he finished in 4th place for the Suzuki team.

Binder wins, earning him a full 25 points for the Riders’ Championship.

Discussing the result, commentators Neil Hodgson and Keith Huewen praised Brad Binder’s effort.

Huewen said: “Binder had the pace everywhere.”

Fellow commentator Neil Hodgson also spoke highly of the rookie rider, saying: “Even on that last lap, Keith, Binder’s time is still in the 59s.”

They also mentioned that with a first-ever podium finish for Morbidelli, “it was good to see him happy with that.”

The remainder of the field was summed up with Alex Rins in 4th, Rossi 5th, and Miguel Oliveira in 6th place.

Championship leader Quartararo finishes in 7th, with Nakagami 8th and the Ducati of Jack Miller in 9th.

10th place goes to Aleix Espargaro, Danilo Petrucci is in 12th, then it’s Crutchlow, Viñales, Alex Marquez, Rabat, Smith and Bradl, Marc Marquez’s replacement, to round off the field.

3rd place finisher Zarco reflected on the race, having started from pole position.

When asked about how it felt to be on the podium, he said: “Even better than the top five. I missed the start and I have to work on that because some times I have good starts, sometimes not. I felt okay in the corners and ready to fight.

“Thank you, Ducati. I’m so happy to offer them the podium and let’s see what we can do in Spielberg.”

Meanwhile, claiming his first podium was an amazing feeling for Franco Morbidelli.

He said: “I’m overwhelmed right now and I’m just enjoying the moment. It was a nice race overall. I started well and I did what was in my plan. I saw that brad was catching up but I said okay I won’t do anything silly.

“I will just try to bring the bike to the end and catch my first podium.”

Race winner Brad Binder, nicknamed ‘Brilliant Brad’ by Keith Huewen discussed how it felt to win for the first time ever.

“Honestly, right now I’m lost for words. This is a day I’ve dreamt about since I was a little boy but today it came true. I can’t thank my team enough – they’ve put an insane bike underneath me this weekend.

“I hope this is the start of many more.”

The triumph puts KTM ahead of Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Aprilia in the Constructor’s Championship on a total of 44 points as the teams and riders travel to Spielberg for Austrian GP at the next weekend.