South African rider gains ten places in Austrian GP to match best result in Moto2, placing seventh. Miguel Oliveira suffers a heavy crash when riding in fourth.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team experienced mixed fortunes on raceday at the Austrian Grand Prix. Miguel Oliveira suffered a heavy crash, from which he escaped without serious injury, when in fourth place and fighting for the podium. Teammate Brad Binder made a great comeback through the field, gaining ten places and equalling his best Moto2 result of seventh.

A spectacular start put Binder, who had started from seventeenth position on the grid, alongside Oliveira in seventh place. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders exchanged positions frequently until the eighth lap, when Oliveira has launched an attack on the podium positions.

With five laps remaining and the Portuguese involved in the podium fight, a nasty crash at Turn 8 ended his race. Fortunately, the accident ended without serious physical consequences for Oliveira.Binder has remained in a third group fighting for sixth position with Takaaki Nakagami. In the end, the South African ended his climb up through the field with a positive seventh place.

After the Austrian Grand Prix, Oliveira is fourth in the overall standings with 133 points, while Binder is sixteenth with 38 points. The next race for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team will be at Silverstone, in the British Grand Prix between August 25th-27th. However, tomorrow they will have a day of testing at the Red Bull Ring. 

Results (Race)
1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 37:39.370
2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) +1.312
3. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +2.544
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) +3.070
5. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +3.745
7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +9.018
DNF. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 207 points
2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 181 points
3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 153 points
4. Miguel Oliviera (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 133 points
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 100 points
16. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 38 points
 

41 BRAD BINDER 
“The race went pretty well. I was fortunate to be on the inside of the first corner, so I found myself up in seventh after only one lap. That compensated for the fact that we did not have a good qualifying session, since we started very well. I pushed very hard in the beginning, although later the rear tyre dropped off a little and I made a mistake, so I found it hard to be able to fight with my group again. Overall I’m happy, it’s been a positive weekend and I want to thank my team setting up the bike so well after a crash this morning in the warmup. I’m looking forward to the next race.”

 

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“It was a very positive race. We had been able to close the gap to the front group after they escaped on the opening laps, and five laps from the end I could see that we had victory within reach. It was very important to take this step forward after having had difficulties in practice. It’s a shame about the crash; I lost the rear wheel and was thrown off the bike. Luckily nothing is broken, although my whole body is very sore. Tomorrow we have a day of testing, but I don’t know if I’m going to be fit in time.”
 

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“It’s a shame about Miguel [Oliveira]’s crash. Luckily it looks like he has no serious injuries, but he’s very sore. In spite of everything, we have to say that it has been a positive weekend. Maybe yesterday we had more difficulty and so the positions on the grid were not the best. Today in the race the two riders put in a great performance and regained confidence. In addition, Brad [Binder] finished in a very good position, which is positive. Miguel was incredibly fast while chasing the podium, and it’s just a shame that he crashed out. We have to take away the good things about the weekend and focus on the next Grand Prix.”