Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder come into the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain confident, starting the first of 11 consecutive races in Europe.

The Moto2 World Championship moves on to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, this weekend, for the fourth round of the 2018 campaign. The series begins a run of 11 European rounds that continues through to October, starting with the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain. Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder come into the race satisfied with their latest results but hungry for more. Both have already been on the podium at Jerez, and will be out to repeat the feat this Sunday afternoon

.Oliveira has yet to win at the Spanish track, but the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider has placed on the rostrum twice –in 2015 in Moto3 and in 2017 in Moto2. Should he take victory this weekend, he would break into double figures with his tenth Grand Prix triumph. Achieving a third consecutive podium finish would also mean his 25th time inside the Top 3.

Brad Binder is eager to claim his first podium of the season, and there is scarcely a better place for him to achieve it than Jerez. It was there that, in 2016 with Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto3, he took his first Grand Prix victory, making history after starting from 35th position of the grid. However, it will not be an easy challenge for the South African; it will be the first time that Binder has contested a Moto2 race at the track, since last year he missed the event due to an injury.

This will be the first of four Spanish events in 2018. The 23-lap Moto2 race will begin at 12:20pm on Sunday. Circuit information – JerezLength: 4.423 m / 2.748 milesWidth: 11 metresLeft corners: 5Right corners: 8Longest straight: 607 m / 0.377 milesConstructed: 1986Modified: 2017
 

 

  44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“We arrive in Jerez after two consecutive podiums, and the overall standings are tightening up. In preseason, we took a while to repeat the lap times that we managed in testing at the end of last year. In the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain the temperature is always very hot, so we will have to work to find the setup for the bike that best suits these characteristics. One of our first objectives will be, above all, to improve our grid position in the qualifying session. I hope we can have a good race, get on the podium again and, if possible, fight for the victory. We will try to go one step further with the consistency that we have, and enjoy a good first weekend in Europe.”

 

 41 BRAD BINDER
“We are facing the Red Bull GP of Spain with confidence. I feel good and I feel fit. This is the circuit where we did the most laps in preseason testing. However, this will be my first Moto2 race at this track, after I missed last year’s round due to injury. In the tests we were quite fast and we had a good feeling on the bike. I hope to be able to have a good weekend. The objective for the first GP in Europe is to work hard in every session; if we do that, we will get a good result and –why not?– we could even take the win, just like we did in my last Spanish GP in 2016.”