Red Bull KTM Ajo rider takes fifth position on the grid for the Japanese GP, his best result since his debut in the Moto3 World Championship.

After getting a joint-best grid spot at the Thai GP with a sixth place, Darryn Binder went one better today at the Japanese GP with fifth in qualifying -his highest position since his debut in 2015. Thanks to this second row, Binder is even more prepared than ever for tomorrow’s race, and has been inside the Top 10 in 3 of the 4 sessions held this weekend.

The last Free Practice session of the weekend took place in completely dry conditions. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider experienced a turning point in the session from his second pit stop. Previously, he had not been able to go round in under 2:00, but on the first lap of his third run he had lowered that to break into the 1:58s. He would add two laps in the 1:57s, with the best a 1:57.562 for eighth position.

With similar conditions on the track in qualifying, Binder’s performance in the session was similar to that of FP3, as he was relatively far down the order on his first two stints. Outside the Top 15 initially, upon his going out for his final run he clocked two laps in the 1:57s, with the second of them his best time of the entire weekend. His 1:57.120 put him fifth, just two tenths off pole position .

The Moto3 race will take place tomorrow at 11am local time -4am CEST. In the last three years, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team have placed second at the Japanese GP.

Results (Qualifying Session)
1. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) 1:56.894
2. John McPhee (KTM) 1:56.969 +0.075
3. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) 1:57.014 +0.120
4. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:57.118 +0.224
5. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:57.120 +0.226

40 DARRYN BINDER
“This morning we unfortunately had a small technical problem -a different one to yesterday’s- but the team managed to resolve it quickly. At the end of the session we were able to set good times and that made me very satisfied and confident ahead of qualifying. In QP we had planned to put our best tyre on for the last stint. We worked very hard and fortunately it paid off. We were very close to the pole position time. I am very happy about how the bike is running and am keen for a great result tomorrow.”