Binder, Oliveira and Hanika improve their times from yesterday and are happy with the progress and pace found at Jerez on Wednesday.

The wind and cold temperatures held off today at Jerez Circuit, allowing the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to set up their new KTM machines for some fast laps in optimal conditions. Binder –sixth today–, Oliveira –tenth–, and Hanika –twelfth– all lowered their times from yesterday. The Portuguese was particularly pleased with his race pace.

At 11:20am Oliveira, Binder and Hanika got back onboard their KTM bikes. The Portuguese took only three laps to improve upon his time from yesterday –something that would also be done by his two teammates later on. In the second session both Oliveira and Hanika went round for the first time in the 1:46’s. Binder had a tougher time due to physical problems, and was forced to get off his bike and go to the Clinica Mobile. Fortunately, in the last session the South African was able to get back on track and set his best lap of 1:46.716 for fifth place, whilst Oliveira and Hanika worked on their race pace on used tyres.

The second Moto3 Official Test concludes tomorrow with a third day of action. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will try to take a step forward in order to have the best possible base for the final test, which takes place within the month at the same track.

Results – Combined Standings Day 2
1. Fabio Quartararo (Honda) 1:45.918
2. Niccolo Antonelli (Honda) 1:46.203 +0.285
3. Danny Kent (Honda) 1:46.491 +0.573
4. Juanfran Guevara (Mahindra) 1:46.501 +0.583
5. Jorge Martin (Mahindra) 1:46.536 +0.618
6. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.716 +0.798
10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.953 +1.035
12. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46. 965 +1.047

#44 Miguel Oliveira – Audio
“Today’s work has been focused on improving at the points of the track where we have felt slower, especially on the fast corners, and we have reduced this quite a lot. In the end we did not focus on setting a fast lap because we used only race tyres, on the front and rear. I am very happy with the pace and consistency I’ve had all day, right from the first session. The fast lap needs to improve by about a second, and we will focus on that tomorrow.”

#41 Brad Binder – Audio
“Today was a somewhat difficult day because in the second session I started to feel bad, with no energy and a lot of pain in my stomach. I don’t know what it was due to, but after going to the Clinica Mobile I got some painkillers and that solved the problem. I felt much better and when I got on the bike I was immediately able to ride like normal. I was able to go fast, so I’m happy about that. It was a bit of a confusing day because I felt bad, but then I improved a lot –which you can see from the times. With the bike, the biggest difference was the setup. We used one today that is much closer to what we needed. Every day we learn more about the bike and adapt it to my riding style.”

#98 Karel Hanika – Audio
“Today we improved a lot compared to yesterday, because the track conditions were much better –especially in the first two sessions. We are still working on the setup of the bike. We are working hard to find the right one, but still we have not managed to because we have some things to try to get the bike perfect. I believe that tomorrow we can do it, but if not then we still have another official test that is sure to help us to improve. Today we focused on the rear, because with the front I’m comfortable already. Despite this, I feel more confident with the bike and my riding style all the time; that’s always positive.”