Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider takes nineteenth place in the qualifying session at Brno.

Work at Brno continued for Darryn Binder on Saturday, as he took part in qualifying for the Czech GP. After some tricky Free Practice sessions in which he nevertheless made consistent improvement, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider clocked the nineteenth fastest time in the afternoon run, allowing him to head the seventh row of the grid.

Whilst temperatures were slightly lower than on Friday, it was enough for all of the Moto3 riders to go quicker on Saturday in FP3. Darryn Binder wasted no time in doing so, besting his previous top lap on his very first stint on track. Working predominantly with used tyres, he would go on to set his best time on his final attempt, with a 2:09.523 that placed him 24th. His time was more than a second quicker than any lap he had done on Friday.

For the qualifying session, the track temperature rose again, to 46ºC. On a three-stop strategy, Binder got his best time on his third lap, with a 2:09.709. Despite later putting on new tyres again, he was unable to go any faster, and ended the 40-minute run in nineteenth.

The tenth race of the Moto3 season will start at 11am local time. The best recent result for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team at Brno is a podium for Binder’s brother, Brad, who took third place in 2015.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) 2:07:981
2. John McPhee (KTM) 2:08.400 +0.419
3. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) 2:08.426 +0.445
4. Philipp Oettl (KTM) 2:08.445 +0.464
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 2:08.473 +0.492
19. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:09.709 +1.728

40 DARRYN BINDER
“The feeling I had during qualifying today was much better. In FP3 I felt better on the bike, and that made me see that I had a little extra speed, so I knew I had to set a good lap. Unfortunately, I clocked my fastest lap at the beginning of the session and at the end we got involved in the standard qualifying game: Waiting for the right moment to go back out. Unfortunately, when I crossed the line the checkered flag wasn’t being waved, but the clock had stopped and my last lap was scratched. Despite this, I have a good pace and I think the race will go well. I’m looking forward to the race; it will be very hot, but here at Brno there are many places where you can overtake. Everybody’s lap times are very similar, so I’m sure the race will be contested in a large group; I will try to use that situation to get to the front.”