How MotoGP star Brad Binder is inspiring SA kids from afar

South African MotoGP rider Brad Binder has been racing around the world and waving the national flag on six continents. And all the while, he's been inspiring young minds to take up the mantle and follow their dreams.

This has also been the case for Oratilwe Phiri, an up-and-coming rider who lives in Johannesburg's West Rand. Ora has big dreams: he wants to make it to MotoGP and continue the South African legacy set by Paddy Driver, Alan North, Jon Ekerold, and Binder.

Binder (Moto3, 2016) and Ekerold (350cc, 1980) have won championships in MotoGP.

But Ora, it seems, is already on his way to achieving big things in motorbike racing, as at just 14 years old, he already has 62 podium finishes to his name.

Surprise of his life

Ora's parents, Thabiso and Tselane, are perhaps his biggest supporters. Whether it's Thabiso helping to prep the bike for a race, or Tselane filming their son's on-track antics, it's a family effort to help Ora realise his dream of one day racing in MotoGP.

It was one of these videos that Checkers Sixty60 saw on social media that prompted them to create a truly spectacular moment for Ora to meet his hero Binder.

With his parents and the South African rider in on the surprise, Checkers Sixty60 arranged for Ora to be filmed at Red Star Raceway in Delmas as part of a feature campaign on him.

When Ora realised his hero was in attendance, all he could muster was: "Is that Brad Binder?!"

READ | New MotoGP season, same ambitions: SA's Brad Binder still burning to be world champion

"It was so amazing to meet the little guy, and to see the look on his face was priceless," Binder said to News24 Sport.

"For a child, you always look up to the guys on the big bikes and think, 'Wow, that's amazing!' So, to have had the