Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider eventually misses out on points at MotorLand Aragon.

Darryn Binder’s weekend at the MotorLand Aragon circuit ended with a 19-lap race on Sunday, and the South African would conclude the contest outside the points. Despite riding in the Top 15 for the first half of the race, he would cross the finish line in 18th place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, who had placed 26th in qualifying, started from 13th position on the starting grid after several riders were penalised. After making a good start, the South African was part of a large second group from sixth lap, in the fight for eleventh place. As the laps went by, he was not able to keep up the pace, dropping outside the points from the midway point on. A final push allowed him to take the chequered flag in 18th position.

Binder now occupies 22nd place in the overall standings with 28 points. Tomorrow he will stay on at MotorLand Aragon for a test, and from Tuesday he will begin preparing for the start of the flyaway rounds, which kick off with the debut of Thailand on the calendar.

Results (Race)
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 37:49.030
2. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) +5.984
3. Enea Bastianini (Honda) +6.045
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +6.095
5. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) +6.161
18. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +14.642

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2018
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 191 points
2. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) 178 points
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 150 points
4. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 133 points
5. Aron Canet (Honda) 118 points
22. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 28 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER

“It’s been a difficult weekend for Darryn [Binder] since the first Free Practice sessions; he struggled to be fast on this track. Today the start of the race was quite good for him, but as the laps went by he wasn’t able to stay in that group he was part of in the early stages, thus he placed outside the points.”

40 DARRYN BINDER

“We were lucky before starting the race, as many riders were penalised and that allowed us to start from much higher up the grid than we had qualified. I couldn’t wait to start the race, because I thought that, with a good start, we could have a great race. I got off the line well, but I have the feeling that, on every lap, I took one step forward and two steps back. On some areas of the circuit I was able to gain positions, but on others I was unable to maintain the position. I eventually missed out on the points, although I fought hard for it. Tomorrow we have a test here, and we will work hard to find something that will help us for the coming races.”