MAGNY-COURS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 04: Steven Odendaal of South Africa and EAB Ten Kate Racing (SuperSport) prepares to start from the grid during the SuperSport race 2 during the WorldSBK French Round – Race 2 at Circuit de Nevers on October 04, 2020 in Magny-Cours, France. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)
South African superbike rider Steven Odendaal benefits from training with Binder brothers
Steven Odendaal recently took to Kyalami to prepare for the season ahead and was joined by the Binders who compete in MotoGP and Moto3.
MAGNY-COURS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 04: Steven Odendaal of South Africa and EAB Ten Kate Racing (SuperSport) prepares to start from the grid during the SuperSport race 2 during the WorldSBK French Round – Race 2 at Circuit de Nevers on October 04, 2020 in Magny-Cours, France. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)
South African Supersport World Championship rider Steven Odendaal says that his preparation for the upcoming season has gone well and he has benefitted from training with Brad and Darryn Binder.
Odendaal, who rode alongside the elder Binder brother (Brad) in Moto2 for a number of seasons, made the move to the the WorldSSP in 2020 and enjoyed a solid rookie season.
Steven Odendaal joins Binder brothers at Kyalami
He recently took to Kyalami to prepare for the season ahead and was joined by the Binders who compete in MotoGP and Moto3.
Odendaal said that the South African weather could not have been better for his preparation with the track temperatures hovering around a sweet spot of about 35 degrees.
The 27-year-old took to Kyalami on his Yamaha YZF-R6 ahead of a season with the Evan Bros Racing Team.
“While being back home, I have had a great opportunity to get ready for the 2021 season which is very important for me. South African weather never disappoints with track temperature of around 35 degrees. Having a MotoGP™ race winner Brad Binder and his brother Darryn as training partners has also been great in my preparations for the title charge this year as we could push each other on track.”
Odendaal thanked Kyalami for making the track available to them for preparation, allowing the South African riders to enjoy a bit more time at home before joining up with their respective circuits.
The South African superbike rider is raring to go ahead of his second season in the WorldSSP after finishing fifth in the championship last season.
“Now, I am feeling confident and ready to start testing with my new team,” Odendaal said.
“A quick shout out to Toby Venter, the CEO of the Kyalami circuit, for giving us the opportunity to practice on a world-class circuit which I hope we can see on the WorldSBK calendar again in the near future.”
Odendaal made quite the impression in his first WorldSSP campaign and in 2021 will link up with the team that helped Andrea Locatelli dominate the 2020 season and scoop his maiden world title.
Prior to joining WorldSSP, Odendaal won the 2016 Moto2 championship. He competed on-and-off in the Moto2™ World Championship between 2011 and 2019 starting 54 races.
On signing for the team last year Odendaal expressed his delight: “I am really happy to be joining the reigning world champions, and I would like to thank my manager Jorge Lis for making this possible. I am sure we will do a great job together next year. It won’t be easy to repeat the results the team has achieved in the last two years but we certainly have the potential to do it. I had the opportunity to visit the racing department of BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team and I was really impressed: the whole team works with great passion and commitment, which is the key to achieve our goal.”
