Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders test setups for their KTM bikes and complete the first two Free Practice sessions in twelfth and twenty-first position, respectively.

Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder had a busy day at Brno on Friday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were back after a three weeks break and devoted much of the two Free Practice sessions to trying out new setups and developments. The pair completed the first day in twelfth and twentieth place, respectively.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders dedicated the first 45 minute session to getting their feel for the bike back after the summer break. It was not an easy start, with track temperatures of 41ºC. Both of the riders set their best times in the first of their two stints in FP1. Oliveira placed tenth with a time of 2:04.701, while Binder was seventeenth -2:05.181.

In the afternoon, when the track temperature had already risen to 49ºC, the pair began trying new set-ups with qualifying in mind. The results were positive, although in the South African’s case this forced him to put in fewer laps. Neither the track conditions nor the continuous setup testing prevented Oliveira -2:03.694, twelfth- or Binder -2:04.278, twenty-first- from significantly lowering their times from FP1.

Tomorrow the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will try to finish the work done throughout Friday with a good position on the starting grid. The fight for the pole position will be take place at 3:05pm local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 2:03.118
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 2:03.319 +0.201
3. Matia Pasini (Kalex) 2:03.359 +0.241
4. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 2:03.411 +0.293
5. Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) 2:03.501 +0.383
12. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:03.694 +0.576
21. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:04.278 +1.160

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“Today we tried the new parts that KTM have brought for the second half of the season. The truth is that, although we still have to keep testing them, I noticed an improvement with the rear. I got more grip with it, which is what we have been looking for in recent races. This first day has been very positive. We have begun the weekend with a setup that is a bit more extreme and we are getting closer and closer to last year’s bike, which was very good. I’m happy with the work we’ve done today, although when we put the soft tyre on at the end of the day we didn’t do much work with it; we’ll leave that for tomorrow.
Today we were able to prepare well for qualifying, which was our goal, so tomorrow I hope I can get a grid position a little higher up the order than at the last few races. The high temperatures don’t worry me too much because they will be the same for everyone. In the first minutes of qualifying it will be important to take advantage of the grip on the track.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“Today was a little confusing. We tested a couple of new setups and, due to that, we weren’t able to do as many laps as we would have liked, especially in FP2. We are looking to corner better and ride more easily.
In general I felt good, especially at the end when we ran the soft tyre. This tyre gave me a lot of confidence, so it suits us fairly well. Tomorrow the goal is to keep calm and push as much as I can, and to continue working. I think we can still have a great weekend here at Brno. I am losing time on the second sector, so when we improve that aspect we will take a step forward. I hope to get a good position on the grid.”