South African enjoys best start to a weekend of the season, with second best time in Brno. Miguel Oliveira places seventh and home rider Karel Hanika fourteenth.

Binder, Moto3, Czech MotoGP 2015

A week after the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, the World Championship hits the Automotodrom Brno this weekend for the eleventh round of the year. There was a promising start for Brad Binder, who after going fifth fastest in the morning climbed to second place in the afternoon free practice session. Also improving their times from session to session were Miguel Oliveira and Karel Hanika, who finished the first day with the seventh and fourteenth fastest laps, respectively.

Good weather and track temperatures of 34ºC allowed the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to make a quick start to the weekend. Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder went out together and led the way early on, with Binder also doing so later on. He eventually had to settle for fifth place -2:08.988-, just behind teammate Oliveira, who improved his top time on the penultimate lap -2:08.948.  Home rider Karel Hanika made a slower start, but on his final lap he was able to climb to thirteenth place -2:09.927.

As the track temperatures rose to 50ºC, the Red Bull KTM Ajo went out to improve their times in the afternoon. All three set their best laps on their final attempt: Binder showed great pace throughout the 40 minutes and placed second, with a time of 2:08.650. Oliveira was sixth -2:08.917- and twelfth -2:09.622- was Hanika, who hopes to go much faster tomorrow.

Tomorrow at 12:35pm, fight begins for the eleventh pole position of the season. Miguel Oliveira has the opportunity to take a second consecutive front row start, after that achieved in Indianapolis.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Danny Kent (Honda) 2:08.483
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:08.650 +0.167
3. Niccolo Antonelli (Honda) 2:08.664 +0.181
4. Efren Vazquez (Honda) 2:08.700 +0.217
5. Romano Fenati (KTM) 2:08.908 +0.425
7. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo)  2:08.917 +0.434
14. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:09.622 +1.139

Miguel Oliveira,
“The day went well. After the first practice we had to change some things with the bike and in the second session we managed to improve in some aspects, but we still have work to do, especially with the front end because it is stepping out on fast corners. Tomorrow we will solve this, and we’ll give everything to have a good qualifying session. I’m happy because the team are doing a great job and we must continue in this way to get a good result this weekend.”

Brad Binder,
“Today was one of my best Fridays so far this season. In the morning I had a good feeling, but on the last run we had problems with the rear tyre, which prevented me from improving my times. The afternoon session also went well, but in the end we made some changes which did not give the results we had expected. Before that I was able to check that we have a good setup and I’m very happy. We must continue working so we can have a good weekend.”

Karel Hanika,
“Today was a difficult day for us. It’s my home race and I started enthusiastically in the practices, concentrating on achieving the best setup for the bike. In the afternoon the heat rose and riding became more difficult. There are some sections of the track where we still have to improve, so tomorrow we will have to work harder and better, both on the setup of the bike and on my riding.  This evening I will finish analysing where we lost time and introduce any changes that are necessary. I hope we can be faster tomorrow and where we want to be.”