The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders complete two positive days of testing at the Spanish track, ahead of the final stage of the season and looking ahead to 2019.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team extended their stay in Aragon for two more days, after a GP that ended with the spectacular victory for Brad Binder. In the two days of testing, the planned workload was very different: Whilst on Monday Oliveira and Binder worked on the setup of their bikes for the end of 2018, on Tuesday they tested the new KTM Moto2 machine designed for 2019.

Yesterday’s test was affected by wind and dust first thing in the morning. This left the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders only able to make the most of half a day of track time, and they put in fewer than 50 laps. Under these conditions, they tested new parts for the brakes and suspension and the final feeling was positive.

On Tuesday conditions improved and Oliveira and Binder changed bikes, riding the 2019 version of the KTM. It was a very interesting day, as the South African was able to ride it for the second time and move its development along, and Oliveira was able to give his opinion before making the leap premier class at the end of this year.

The test in Aragon concludes an intense month of work, in which Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder have ridden every week. They next head to the Buriram circuit in Thailand from October 5th-7th, for the start of the flyaway rounds.

AKI AJO – Team Manager
“We may have had little useful track time yesterday, but we took advantage of the laps and we did put in to test new parts for the brakes and suspension. It was interesting to be able to test these aspects.

Today the conditions helped us to do a great job with the 2019 bike. It was a very positive day that allowed us to test setups and compare them with the previous results we’ve had. Both Miguel [Oliveira] and Brad [Binder] were very satisfied with the work that KTM are doing, and tomorrow the KTM test team will continue working here. We can’t wait to continue helping in the upcoming tests.”

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“Yesterday we were unlucky with the conditions, as it was very windy and we encountered a lot of dust on track; That left us with only half a day of testing time, and prevented us from working on everything that we wanted. We weren’t able to go as fast as we would have liked due to the track conditions, but on the laps we were able to do, we focused on rear grip.

Today was different. I was able to test the Moto2 bike for 2019 for the first time and give my feedback to KTM. It is a fun bike to ride, and very fast.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“Yesterday we were only able to ride in the morning, and the conditions at the start of the day seemed like FP1 in Qatar, with the amount of dust on the track. However, in the end we were able to complete around 40 laps and try out some small setup changes, which could give us good results in the coming races.

Today was very positive. I enjoyed myself a lot riding the KTM Moto2 bike for next year. KTM is doing an incredible job. I think that we have taken several steps forward and we’re going in the right direction. I can’t wait to continue riding it.”