Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Karel Hanika confident of return to form at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Oliveira, Moto3 race, Czech MotoGP 2015

In the last World Championship visit to Italy, back in May, Miguel Oliveira took victory. This is the aim for all three Red Bull KTM Ajo riders this weekend, when Moto3 action returns at the San Marino Grand Prix. Round 13 of the season comes after a difficult rainy race at Silverstone a fortnight ago. Oliveira, Binder and Hanika will be amongst the first out on a newly re-laid asphalt at the Misano circuit, which should enable faster riding.

Miguel Oliveira is hoping for a race in ‘normal’ conditions on Sunday. At Misano he wants to ride amongst the frontrunners and fight for his first podium of the second half of the season. The circuit seems favourable for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, who in his four visits to the Italian track has always started from the first three rows of the grid. He has placed inside the Top 10 three times at Misano.

Brad Binder is pleased with his performances in recent Grands Prix, despite the eventful race at Silverstone. Comfortable with his KTM, the South African wants to return to the podium this weekend. Last year he was just one second off the rostrum at Misano, crossing the finish line in sixth place. Seventh in the overall standings, Binder wants to move up the overall standings in the remaining six rounds.

At Silverstone, Karel Hanika could not convert his best grid position of second into a good result, but this weekend he will try and make up for his misfortune. Although last year he was unable to complete the race, at Misano the Czech experienced one of the highlights of his early career as a rider, when he was proclaimed champion of the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2013.

The Moto3 race returns to its usual time slot of 11am on Sunday. In the past three years, Red Bull KTM Ajo have taken a victory at Misano (Sandro Cortese, 2012) and a further podium (Jack Miller, 3rd in 2014).

Circuit information – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
Length: 4.226m / 2.626 miles
Width: 14m
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 565m / 0.351 miles
Constructed: 1969
Modified: 2008

Miguel Oliveira,
“I really like the Misano circuit. It’s a track where I’ve been pretty quick in previous seasons and I feel comfortable there. It’s track with very hard braking and slow corners, where you have to open the throttle early. After the race at Silverstone, which was not as expected due to the weather conditions, I hope we get lucky with the weather and can do a good job to bring home the best result possible.”

Brad Binder,
“I am very hopeful about the Grand Prix this weekend at Misano. Although the final result at Silverstone was not as expected, overall the last three or four races have gone very well. Maybe some results, like at the last race, were not so good, but throughout the weekend I felt very comfortable and everything was in place to go fast.

The Misano circuit has quite different characteristics to Silverstone, but I really like it. I can’t wait to get back on my KTM and take a podium finish.”

Karel Hanika,
“I’m really looking forward to Misano, to change the dynamic of recent races in this second half of the season, where we have not been fortunate. We have to continue working as we have done, because despite the results, both at Brno and Silverstone the work done on Friday and Saturday was very good. We deserved a better result and not to leave there without scoring any points. Now it is time to get a good result and believe in luck. We must continue as strongly as before. We will look to repeat a good position in the qualifying session and have a good race.

I like Misano because I won races there in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, and was proclaimed champion there in 2013; it’s a nice track. The asphalt is new so we will see how that goes, but I’m sure we will go faster -especially in the first sector.”