Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider finishes second at the San Marino GP after gaining 7 places. Brad Binder crosses the line eighth, rising to third in the overall standings.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team ended a positive weekend at the San Marino GP with Miguel Oliveira on the podium for the third consecutive round, following his win at Brno and further rostrum at the Red Bull Ring. His second place at Misano extends his good run of form and keeps him in second place in the Moto2 World Championship. The day was completed by Brad Binder taking an eighth place that moves him to third overall.

Both riders made a brilliant start to the race, with Binder up into third and and Oliveira fifth on the opening lap. It was the Portuguese who eventually broke away in third, and he made a pass for his definitive second place with eight laps remaining, defending the position until the final lap. 

Binder had a tricky race; the South African did not have a good enough feeling to match the pace of the frontrunners and was relegated to the fight for seventh place. In the end, he completed the 25th and final lap in eighth position, earning 8 points.

Oliveira and Binder are in strong positions in the overall standings, with the Portuguese second -only 8 points behind the series leader- and the South African in third for the first time since joining the intermediate class. Their great results allow Red Bull KTM Ajo to increase their advantage in the team standings.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“For Miguel [Oliveira] it was an excellent weekend in terms of the World Championship, as we minimised the damage of Bagnaia’s home victory. Today was quite positive; during practice the lap times weren’t bad and Miguel set a good pace throughout the race that allowed him to take another podium. It wasn’t an easy weekend for Brad [Binder], although he set a great time in the qualifying session after a lot of fighting for it. As for the race, we have to analyse what happened to him, because he found it difficult to follow other riders. Nevertheless, he took another Top 10, gained a position in the standings and I’m sure that over the next few races we will see him on the podium again. I am very optimistic about the coming races: We did a test last week, we will do another one next week and another after Aragon, so we have an excellent plan ahead for the end of the season. I think a successful final stretch of 2018 awaits us.”

Results (Race)
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 41:02.106
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +3.108
3. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) +4.094
4. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +6.320
5. Joan Mir (Kalex) +6.728
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +12.134

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018 – Riders
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 214 points
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 206 points
3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 119 points
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 116 points
5. Joan Mir (Kalex) 114 points

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2018 – Teams
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 325 points
2. Sky Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 293 points
3. EG 0’0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 227 points
4. Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) 203 points
5. Pons HP40 (Kalex) 137 points

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“Pecco [Bagnaia] was very strong today and we paid the price for not having qualified on one of the front two rows, but I’m happy, since I was riding comfortably and the bike performed very well during the race. At some tracks it is very difficult to lower your lap times, and this is one of those circuits. On the first few laps I couldn’t run a strong pace, and as Pecco and Mattia [Pasini] could do that, we struggled. They broke away a little; I caught back up with Mattia but it was very difficult to reach Pecco. I eventually took second position and only lost five points in the title fight, so I’m happy with how this Grand Prix has gone. Now we are going to Aragon, a track that I like, so I will be ready to fight again and start to recover points. Only eight points separate us, so anything can happen.”

41 BRAD BINDER
“The positive point today was that we gained a position in the World Championship standings. It was a very difficult weekend for me, since I never managed to have a consistent pace -right from the first session on Friday until today, when I also wasn’t able to establish my pace. We’ve improved our position in the standings and we hope to do a good job in the test next week and keep taking steps forward; there is still plenty of the season remaining and we have many challenges to meet.”