Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider completes a promising first day at Mugello in sixteenth place.

Although he was sixteenth on the combined timesheets for the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix, Darryn Binder is feeling good about this weekend. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was inside the Top 10 for most of the day, improving his times lap after lap. The South African hopes to improve his riding on the chicanes tomorrow in order to take another step forward.

From the first minute of FP1, Binder carried over the confidence gained in the test held this past Monday in Barcelona. A fan of the Mugello circuit, he was inside the Top 10 in the opening minutes, and he made a single stop that allowed him to make the most of the available track time. On his second stint, with new tyres, Binder clocked his best time of 1:59.668 for sixteenth place.

In FP2, the South African again began strong, equaling his FP1 time at the first attempt and improving it on his second try. Always inside the Top 10, Binder made two stops, running new tyres on his final stint. His quickest time of the day, a 1:58.412, again put him sixteenth.

Tomorrow sees qualifying take place from 12:35pm local time. Darryn Binder will look to better his fourth row start at Le Mans.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:57:104
2. Aron Canet (Honda) 1:57.443 +0.339
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:57.541 +0.437
4. Phillip Oettl (KTM) 1:57.552 +0.448
5. Kaito Toba (Honda) 1:57.607 +0.503
16. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:58.412 +1.308

40 DARRYN BINDER

“I’m happy with how today went at Mugello. We weren’t very fast but even so, I finished 16th in both sessions. I improved from FP1 to FP2 and I felt much better with every lap. There is something we need to work on ahead of tomorrow, specifically the change of direction on the chicanes. That is the hardest part of the track for me right now. I have a good feeling on the corners and I feel comfortable with the bike, so I think that if we manage to improve that point of my riding tomorrow we can be up at the front and get a good position on the grid.”