Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider returns to the Austrian track for the first time in two years and finishes nineteenth.

The Moto3 World Championship began its second race weekend in as many weeks this Friday, as the Austrian Grand Prix got underway at the Red Bull Ring. The lower cylinder class riders were the only ones not to put on wet tyres in either of the two Free Practice sessions, enjoying mostly dry track time throughout. Darryn Binder improved his times in both FP1 and FP2 to complete the day in nineteenth place. This is only the second time that the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider has ridden at the track, the last being in 2016.

Binder was inside the Top 10 within the first 15 minutes of FP1 getting underway, taking advantage of the comfortable riding conditions with 28ºC track temperature. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was able to lower his lap times on his third and final run, and with new tyres he clocked his best of 1:38.727 on his last lap.

FP2 brought with it the first drops of rain, eight minutes after the start of the session, forcing the South African to enter the pits after completing only 6 full laps. With 17 minutes remaining, he went back out with used tyres and managed to continually cut tenths off his lap time for a 1:38.317 -seventeenth. The irruption caused by intense rainfall in the final moments prevented him from putting in one last attempt.

Tomorrow, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider will take part in qualifying from 12:35pm local time. For his only previous race at the Red Bull Ring, he started from the fifth row.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Jaume Masia (KTM) 1:37:218
2. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) 1:37.299 +0.081
3. John McPhee (KTM) 1:37.329 +0.111
4. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) 1:37.524 +0.306
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) 1:37.541 +0.323
19. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.317 +1.099

40 DARRYN BINDER
“Today was a good day of practice here at the Red Bull Ring. At Brno I found it very difficult to be fast in the race, so today we tried something different and I liked it a lot. In FP2 we tried to work on things to improve with used tyres. We basically focused on braking stability. Unfortunately, the first stint was interrupted because it started spitting with rain. As we lost a lot of time in the garage because of the rain, when I went back out onto the track I did a much longer run. I was able to set a good pace and I felt very comfortable on the bike. I think tomorrow with new tyres we can be closer to the top positions. We’ll see what the weather is like.”