The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders are onboard their KTM bikes for the first time in 2018 this week, in the first official test of preseason in Valencia.

The first Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship test of the year takes place this week in Spain, as the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia hosts what was scheduled to be three days of action. However, for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder, today was the first time out on track with their bikes in 2018, after being forced to remain in the garage yesterday due to rain.

However, it was not until the second session of the day that the pair got onboard their KTM Moto2 machines. Low temperatures and a still damp track were not the best conditions in which to start riding before then. Oliveira was fast from the beginning, completing the day in second place with a time of 1:36.334, following a total of 32 laps. A small, harmless crash in the final minutes prevented him from taking advantage of the rest of the third session. His teammate, Brad Binder, followed him very closely -1:36.903, ninth-, pushing to the maximum in the last hour. He put in 25 laps during that time, for a total of 32 overall.

The first official test of the season will end tomorrow. The Moto2 riders will have almost 4 hours of track time in which to continue evolving and progressing, ahead of the start of the season in Qatar.

Combined Standings Day 1-2
1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 1:36.149
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.334 +0.185
3. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:36.493 +0.344
4. Simone Corsi (Kalex) 1:36.522 +0.373
5. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 1:36.751 +0.602
9. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.903 +0.754

#41 Brad Binder
“After two months without being able to ride my KTM, it has been good to be able to undertake my first laps of the year here in Valencia. The weather was not the best, as it was too cold, and we have not been able to work on many things, but at least it has helped me to start finding a feeling and adapting to riding in Moto2. Tomorrow is set to be another very cold day, so we’ll see if we can ride in all of the sessions or not. We will try to make the most of the time available.”

#44 Miguel Oliveira
“It is true that today we were only able to put in a few laps, but it has still been enough to shake of the cobwebs and begin to find our feeling again. In the last session I suffered a small crash on the final corner, but wasn’t hurt. We set the second best time, so it’s not a bad start. Tomorrow we will continue to work hard because it is only the beginning of it all.”