Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider qualifies 23rd at Misano in a demanding dry session.

Darryn Binder took part in a second day of action at the San Marino Grand Prix this Saturday, and claimed 23rd on the grid after a difficult qualifying session. In the morning’s FP3 session, the riders encountered a wet track and could not make the final touches to their bike setup, and the surface ended up providing mixed conditions.

The Moto3 riders suffered the inconvenience of opening the day, riding on a track still wet from an overnight storm. This meant that there were few who went out in the early stages, using wet tyres. Binder was one of the first to emerge from the garage, completing an 8-lap first stint. After waiting for better conditions, the South African went back out in the final minutes to put in 3 more laps, setting his best time of 1:54.575 for nineneenth.

During the morning the Italian track dried up through MotoGP and Moto2 sessions, and thus Moto3 qualifying took place on a dry surface amidst sunny conditions. Binder made two stops in the pits, and started out by besting his top time from Friday. On his last run, Binder set his best time of the weekend -1:43.632- which placed him 23rd. Tomorrow he will start from the eighth row of the grid.

The South African rider missed last year’s San Marino GP due to injury, and is extra motivated for tomorrow’s 11am local time start.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:41.823
2. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) 1:42.134 +0.311
3. Aron Canet (Honda) 1:42.270 +0.447
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 1:42.271 +0.448
5. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 1:42.294 +0.471
23. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:43.632 +1.809

40 DARRYN BINDER
“If we compare yesterday’s results with those from today, I think we have taken a small step forward and I was able to ride at a more consistent pace. Our biggest difficulty is that in the qualifying sessions I don’t feel that we can make the final step towards a great lap; today I felt that I couldn’t brake as I would like and it was difficult for me to get on the gas coming out of the corners. I lost time on several parts of the track. I’m confident that we will make some improvements in the warmup with our feeling, since in FP3 we weren’t able to try anything out. My goal will be to score points tomorrow; Misano is a small circuit with many opportunities to overtake, so I don’t see anyone breaking away.”