Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders satisfied on first day of San Marino GP, in which they placed twelfth and eighteenth, respectively.

The San Marino GP kicked off this Friday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, amidst ideal weather conditions. Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder took advantage of these conditions to try out as much as possible, as well as to confirm the conclusions drawn from their test last week in MotorLand Aragon. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders finished the day in twelfth and eighteenth place, respectively.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders felt great in FP1. Oliveira led the way in the first ten minutes, and was never outside the Top 5. However, it was after a first stop in the garage and a switch to new tyres that both riders went out together, clocking their best laps. Oliveira set a 1:38.524 best, for fifth, and Binder was ninth -1:38.764.

Miguel Oliveira used the afternoon session to ride with heavily used tyres and with fresh rubber, and it was with the latter that the Portuguese was able to lower his time from the morning to a 1:38.425. He was eleventh in the afternoon and twelfth overall. Brad Binder was not able to ride as comfortably as in FP1, and this meant he could not better his previous time. He would place eighteenth, with a 1:38.838.

Qualifying for the San Marino GP will take place at 3:05pm local time on Saturday.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 1:37:763
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 1:37.855 +0.092
3. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:37.875 +0.112
4. Joan Mir (Kalex) 1:38.075 +0.312
5. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:38.089 +0.326
12. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.425 +0.662
18. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.764 +1.001

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“I felt pretty good on this first day at Misano. In the morning we improved little by little thanks to some things that we had tested at MotorLand Aragon. In the afternoon it was a little harder for us to lower our times and they also scrubbed off my best lap, so we still have room to go faster. We are on the right track and tomorrow we have another day in which to continue growing in the morning and work mainly on race pace. In qualifying we will go for a good grid position. If it rains tomorrow we can use references from the wet race last year. I think we have the base for it, but I am confident that it will be sunny.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“I felt good today. This morning didn’t go badly, especially the final part of FP1. In the afternoon we tried something on the bike that did not work as expected, and that made everything a little more complicated. In general the day has been positive, but we still have work to do for tomorrow, so I hope it’s sunny. I can’t wait for qualifying and to try some new things, to see if we find any solution that I am really comfortable with and that allows me to get closer to the positions we should be in.”