Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider gets new best result in qualifying with second position at Phillip Island.

For the third consecutive race, Darryn Binder achieved a new personal milestone in qualifying for the Australian GP. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took his best grid spot to date, with a second position that will allow him to start on the front row for the first time in his career. The South African was also amongst the Top3 in the wet, showing that he is strong in all conditions at Phillip Island.

FP3 was the first completely wet session, thus preventing an improvement in yesterday’s times. The intermittent rain that fell throughout the 40 minute run meant that the track would not dry out, but Binder felt comfortable and clocked a 1:47.276 at the midway point of the session that earned him the third position.

Despite a half-wet track to contend with at the start of qualifying, the Moto3 riders opted to run slicks for the grid-defining session. Binder was very competitive from the start, repeatedly occupying the top spot during the first half of the afternoon outing. However, as usual in the Moto3 class, the grid was not decided until the final seconds. A personal best lap of the weekend -1:36.848- on his penultimate attempt brought him a magnificent second position.

After having taken his first podium last week at Motegi, Darryn Binder will look to repeat the success tomorrow in the race. The 23-lap Moto3 contest will start at 1pm local time. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team have 4 victories at this track.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:36:591
2. Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.848 +0.257
3. Ayumu Sasaki (Honda) 1:37.117 +0.526
4. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) 1:37.357 +0.766
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) 1:37.465 +0.874

40 DARRYN BINDER
“I’m very happy with this second position in qualifying. It’s my first front row in the World Championship and I was very close to pole position. On the last lap I was improving my time even more, but unfortunately I made a small mistake. The wind made our work very difficult; it was tough to complete a good, clean lap. In any case, I’m very happy with how things are going. I want to thank the team for that. I feel very comfortable on the bike -even in the wet like in FP3- so I can’t wait for tomorrow’s race.”