Darryn Binder has tested a Yamaha Superbike at former MotoGP circuit, Brno.
Binder cut laps at the Czech circuit amid speculation that he will be promoted straight from Moto3 to MotoGP by the Sepang Racing Team (SRT).
The South African is but one piece of a much larger jigsaw puzzle involving the Malaysian-owned satellite team and the factory Monster Energy Yamaha team.
Already, SRT looked like having to find a replacement for Valentino Rossi, who did indeed decide to retire, before Maverick Viñales negotiated an early exit from Yamaha.
That is likely to trigger a Franco Morbidelli move from the satellite team to the factory team, and thus two seats to fill at SRT.
However, that task has been made even more difficult with Petronas’ decision to drop its title sponsorship at season’s end.
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Petronas held that status at not just SRT’s MotoGP team, but also the Moto2 and Moto3 programmes, and those will now be cut.
It also appears that there will also be a management buyout which will see the race team decoupled from the Sepang International Circuit, the likelihood of which was affirmed by the latter’s CEO, Azhan Shafriman Hanif.
Binder was reportedly set to ride over two days at Brno on a Yamaha R1 prepared by YART, the Iwata manufacturer’s factory team in the Endurance World Championship.
A photograph posted to the Automotodrom Brno’s social media channels, with the caption ‘Darryn Binder in da house’, appears to show just that, although no lap times have been made publicly available.
Should he make the leap from Moto3 directly to MotoGP, he would repeat the step made by Jack Miller in 2015.
In the meantime, SRT could bump Jake Dixon up from Moto2 to MotoGP at this month’s British Grand Prix, given the possibility that Cal Crutchlow will fill in for the suspended Viñales at the factory team.
Crutchlow has ridden as an injury replacement for Morbidelli in the last two races, after Garrett Gerloff did so in the Dutch TT which immediately preceded the summer break.
Viñales’ signing for Aprilia Racing was confirmed earlier this week.
The MotoGP season continues at Silverstone on August 27-29.
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