Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider completes a difficult qualifying session in 23rd place, although penalties for other riders allow him to climb positions.

Darryn Binder had a tough Saturday qualifying session at Assen, as he was unable to find a solution that would move him up the grid order. Despite improving his times in each of the sessions held today, the South African had to settle for twenty-third position in qualifying. However, penalties for six riders for infractions will allow him to take off from seventeenth position, on the sixth row.

He dedicated the last Free Practice session to looking for race pace with used tyres, making one stop and not changing tyres at all. His times were quicker than on Friday, and his best lap of 1:43.769 on his penultimate attempt placed him twenty-second.

Binder fitted new soft tyres on his first and third stints in qualifying. In the first he clocked his best time of the weekend so far, on his fourth attempt, with a 1:43.452 -twenty-third. On his last stint, a run off-track meant he was unable to climb up the order.

Twenty-third in the session but 17th on the grid, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will fight to join one of the typical large groups at Assen on raceday. The 22-lap Dutch GP will start at 11am.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:42.039
2. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 1:42.349 +0.310
3. Nicolo Bulega (KTM) 1:42.445 +0.406
4. Aron Canet (Honda) 1:42.562 +0.523
5. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) 1:42.594 +0.555
23. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:43.452 +1.413

40 DARRYN BINDER
“I’m finding it fairly hard this weekend, although I’ve been taking a few steps forward. Qualifying was very close but I set my lap quickly at the start of the session. At the end I made a mistake and I went off the track; when I came back on I couldn’t improve my time any further. It’s a shame because I enjoy riding here a lot and I would like to be faster. Tomorrow the race is sure to be pretty tight and long, so we’ll see what happens. In Moto3 there is always a front group in the race. When you start from so far back you have to catch the group before it breaks, because otherwise it is very difficult to re-engage. This will be my goal: To get to the front group and do the best I can.”