Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will head the grid at the San Marino Grand Prix after a thrilling qualifiyng session, with Bo Bendsneyder 21st.

Brad Binder took another step forward in his fight to extend his lead in the Moto3 World Championship standings at Misano. The South African rider was fastest in qualifying for the San Marino GP, making a final attack that took him to pole position for the fourth time this season. Binder had previously taken pole in Argentina, Catalonia and the Czech Republic. Teammate Bo Bendsneyder will start from 21st, on the seventh row, as although he improved on his Friday times he was hindered by traffic on track.

Binder used the final Free Practice session of the weekend to set a devastating pace, unmatched by any of his rivals. Making just a single stop in the pits, he completed a total of 10 laps in the 1:42 range, out of 21 overall. A best lap of 1:42.624 placed second him second in the session. Rookie Bendsneyder made an important improvement with his last lap, clocking a 1:43.142 that placed him ninth.

In qualifying Binder displayed his good form from the start, riding first for much of the session. After three stints and occupying second position, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made a late push to achieve the fastest time of the afternoon: 1:42.398. It was his personal best for the weekend, despite traffic that had the potential to ruin his lap. Bendsneyder had a difficult session, in which he could not match his time from FP3, and his 1:43.761 put him 21st.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 race will be held at 11:00 -local time-. Brad Binder, the leader of the series by 86 points margin, will seek a result that moves him closer to the title.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.398
2. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 1:42.548 +0.150
3. Nicolo Bulega (KTM) 1:42.631 +0.233
4. Jakub Kornfeil (Honda) 1:42.659 +0.261
5. Jorge Navarro (Honda) 1:42.710 +0.312
21. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:43.761 +1.363

41 BRAD BINDER

“I’m very happy. It’s great to have taken another pole position. On the last lap I gave 110%, but on the last corner there was another rider in the middle of the track with their hand raised so I had to cut the gas, taking the corner slowly and pushing to the line. When I saw the time I was a bit upset, because I could have gone been three or four tenths faster even than that. The qualifying session was a bit chaotic, with many riders on track, and I find it amazing that all the riders will always gather in the same place. It’s a bit strange; on one of my laps I made a mistake, went off the track and saw I had seven or eight riders waiting alongside me. At least I managed to put in a good lap so I’m satisfied. However, tomorrow is the most important day of the weekend.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER

“This morning I was able to set a good time and was consistent. I ended up very happy with how FP3 went. In the afternoon, qualifying was difficult. I tried to set a good time in the middle of the session, but finally it wasn’t to be. Later on I went back out to find a fast lap in the final stint, but there were too many other riders on track. In the first sector I was held up a lot, but on the next three I set personal bests. We must be focused and think about finishing in the points tomorrow, something I see myself capable of doing because in FP3 I was very comfortable with the bike. I want to thank the team for all their effort and apologise for qualifying; this is not the position where we should be and tomorrow we will show everybody what we are capable of doing.”