Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider completes opening day at Phillip Island in twelfth position.

This Friday, Darryn Binder was back onboard his KTM today for the first time since taking his maiden podium in Japan. Looking to build on that third position, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider opened the Australian GP feeling good, putting in a total of 34 laps and improving his times consistently. The South African concluded the day in twelfth overall.

Oil left on the already wet Philip Island track by another rider, 6 minutes after the start of the session, stopped FP1 for 2 hours. By the time the action resumed, the weather was sunny and the Moto3 field were able to run slick tyres, enjoying 30 minutes of dry track time. Binder felt comfortable and led the way on the early laps, eventually placing fourteenth with a time of 1:39.569.

In FP2 he matched that time on the first attempt, then broke the 1:39 barrier with the second. As his improvements with the setup ahead of Sunday continued, Binder employed a two-stop strategy, getting better with each outing and clocking his best time on his final lap –a 1:38.121.

An hour later than the usual schedule, qualifying for the Australian GP will take place on Saturday at 1:35pm local time. In the previous two grid-deciding sessions in Thailand and Japan, Binder has had the best results of his career so far, with a sixth and a fifth position.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Aron Canet (Honda) 1:37:285
2. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:37.396 +0.111
3. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) 1:37.398 +0.113
4. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) 1:37.458 +0.173
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) 1:37.475 +0.190
12. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:38.121 +0.836

40 DARRYN BINDER
“I’ve really enjoyed this first day at Phillip Island. The weather in the morning was a little changeable and unfortunately someone left oil on the asphalt, forcing us to wait in the garage. Despite this, in the end we were lucky to enjoy two dry sessions and I felt pretty good in them. I rode alone in both sessions and my feeling is already pretty good. I’m eager for tomorrow, because I think I still have something up my sleeve to take another step forward. I hope to achieve a good result in qualifying.”