Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders complete first day at SIlverstone in sixteenth and twentieth place, respectively, after adapting to a new surface and rain in FP2.

Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder appear to have a tricky weekend ahead of them at the British Grand Prix, as evidenced on Friday. Firstly, they had to adapt to the new asphalt at the Silverstone Circuit, and things were made more complicated in a wet FP2. Both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders set their best times in the morning, with Binder ending the day in sixteenth and Oliveira in twentieth.

FP1 for the Moto2 field had a tough start for Miguel Oliveira, who suffered a small crash at Turn 3 within the opening eight minutes. The Portuguese returned to the pits to repair his KTM and would go back out on track, clocking a 2:10.111 time for twentieth place. Brad Binder had a calmer session, and was 16th with a 2:09.580 lap as he got acclimatised to the new surface.

In the afternoon, the Moto2 competitors were again unlucky in terms of the weather. Rain took only 5 minutes in making an appearance, forcing the riders to enter the pits. Binder was in ninth at that point, with Oliveira still not having put in a hot lap. Both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders went back out just under 20 minutes before the end, focusing on their wet setup with wet tyres. Binder was ninth -2:12.120- and Oliveira twenty-sixth -2:24.776.

Both hope to enjoy a dry FP3 tomorrow that allows them to work in such conditions for Sunday. Qualifying takes place at 3:05pm local time, and both Oliveira and Binder will try to extend a streak of good results from the last two GPs.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 2:08.385
2. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 2:08.643 +0.258
3. Sam Lowes (KTM) 2:08.832 +0.447
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 2:08.860 +0.475
5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 2:09.083 +0.698
16. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:09.580 +1.195
20. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:10.111 +1.726

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“I’m a little disappointed about the crash in FP1; I fell very early in the session and it took away a little confidence out of me, and I didn’t do as many laps as I would have liked. This afternoon I had the hope of putting in more laps in order to get a little more feeling; we changed something on the bike to help me, but it started to rain and we couldn’t even complete a lap with it. In the wet I felt very good and I went fast, so if it does rain tomorrow or in the race I feel confident. There are many more bumps than last year, and the level of grip is the same, but in the end it is the same for all the riders. We know that our bike is working well at Silverstone, so it’s a question of gaining confidence tomorrow and getting a good position on the grid.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“The day hasn’t gone so badly. In the morning I didn’t feel very comfortable, and I couldn’t push too much. However, from the beginning of the afternoon session I felt much more confident and prepared to set a good time. Unfortunately, it started raining a lot and we couldn’t clock a fast lap. Despite this, the grip on the new asphalt in wet conditions is quite good, especially compared to the old track, but there are many bumps. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, regardless of whether it’s dry or wet, I think I can have a good QP tomorrow. I hope that in FP3 we have a good dry session so we can push a little more, and be able to feel more confident. The minimum objective is to start from one of the front three rows.”