The Red Bull KTM Ajo ambitious and confident start transoceanic tour in Japan after showing his best form.

Binder, Moto3 race, Aragon MotoGP 2015

The Japanese circuit of Twin Ring Motegi will host the start of a three-week run for the World Championship, taking in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. At the ‘stop and go’ circuit, Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Karel Hanika will seek to move up in the overall standings with good results. The race in Aragon, where Miguel Oliveira took his third victory of the year and Binder fought for the win until the last lap, should be a model to follow this weekend.

Two weeks ago, the Portuguese managed consecutive podium positions for the first time in his Grand Prix career, adding a win at Aragon to second place at Misano. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will continue pushing to be one of the form riders in the final month of Moto3 action. Fourth in 2013, Oliveira intends to add the maximum possible number of points to fight in the overall standings until the last GP.

A DNF in Aragon did not reflect the great work done by Brad Binder at MotorLand. The South African was a clear candidate for victory, and only the mistake of a rival rider prevented Binder from fighting for it to the end. Nevertheless, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider is confident with the good work done and hopes to take his second consecutive podium at Motegi, following his third place last season.

Karel Hanika will begin the second flyaway stage of his career this weekend. Knowing all the tracks, the Czech is keen to shake off the bad luck he has suffered in the last 4 races and get back to collecting points. Hanika debuted at Twin Ring Motegi last year with a twelfth place.

Scheduled for 11:00 -local time-, Sunday’s Moto3 race can be followed in Europe from 4:00am -CET-.

Circuit information – Twin Ring Motegi
Length: 4.801 m / 2.983 miles
Width: 15 m
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 762 m / 0.473 miles
Constructed: 1997
Modified: 1997

 Miguel Oliveira,
“We start these three rounds with a lot of confidence after the good weekend we had at MotorLand Aragon, and morale boost from the third victory of the season. We hope to be as competitive as we were at the last GP, but we have to completely change the setup of the bike as the circuit has completely different characteristics. It has heavy braking, so we will try to capitalise on this strength of the KTM. I hope we can enjoy these three consecutive weeks, and take a victory to allow us to close in on second place in the standings.”

Brad Binder,
“I can’t wait to start these three rounds, after the bittersweet taste that the Aragon GP left in our mouths. I think we missed out on a podium due to conditions beyond our control. Motegi is a circuit that I think is pretty good for me, where last year I placed on the podium and I was very close to victory after being very strong throughout the weekend. This year, I come into the weekend with more pace and stronger than I was last year, so I’m sure we can be at the front fighting for the win. It is considered a stop and go circuit, so I think that for our KTM this can be an advantage. We are ready for it.”

Karel Hanika
“We are ready for a good start to these three consecutive races. I hope to feel comfortable riding and find a  good setup that allows me to be quick. I like this time of the season because we are in some very different countries and spend some time with the team, so it’s fun. Twin Ring Motegi is not one of my favourite tracks. I took points last year, finishing in twelfth place, but do not enjoy the track as much as others. I know I have to improve on some parts of the circuit to ride in the 1:56s and improve my pace. It will not be easy because there are some long straights and that’s where I lose most time, but we will give everything to be up at the front.”