Oliveira in Top 3 at the start of wet Valencia GP

16/11/2018

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider overcomes difficult weather conditions and completes day one in third place. Brad Binder goes sixteenth.

 

Rain was prominent on the entire first day of the Valencia GP. Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder adapted quickly to a fully wet track and worked their hardest in difficult conditions. Starting a weekend in which the Moto2 team title is at stake, Oliveira and Binder finished the day in third and sixteenth position, both setting their best times in the morning session.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders took advantage of the first session to test their feeling in the wet. Oliveira was strong, progressively improving his times. On his last lap, the Portuguese rider clocked his best lap of 1:47.617, the third fastest of the session. Binder also made just a single stop, trying to put in as many laps as possible. Finally he went fifteenth, stopping the clock in 1:48.787.

The constant rain increased the amount of water on track, causing aquaplaning. Oliveira was cautious in the early stages of FP2, putting in few laps. The Portuguese set his best times late on to finish sixth in the session -1:49.119- whilst Binder had a tough FP2 due to the track conditions and a lack of feeling with new tyres. Finally, the South African finished the session 23rd -1:50.296.

Qualifying training for the last Grand Prix of the season will be held tomorrow at 3:05pm local time. Last year, both riders started from the second row.

 

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Iker Lecuona (KTM) 1:46.705
2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:47.503 +0.798
3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:47.617 +0.912
4. Joe Roberts (NTS) 1:47.707 +1.002
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) 1:47.713 +1.008
16. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.787 +2.082

 

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA

“In the afternoon there was more water on the track than this morning, but even so I felt good throughout the day. We used today to get good references for tomorrow, although it isn’t expected to rain as much as today -which is very positive.
However, on Sunday similar weather to today is forecast, so all the information we have gathered today will be useful. Starts are more difficult in the wet, because if you are far back it is difficult to see what you have in front of you. It is also more difficult to overtake, so tomorrow we will try to have a good qualifying session to place as high up as possible.”

41 BRAD BINDER

“I felt pretty good all day and I felt comfortable with the bike. In the afternoon it was more difficult, as during the first half of the session I was riding fast but later on we mounted a new tyre with which I did not have a good feeling. It was easy to lose the front end. Fortunately I was able to improve my time on the last few laps, as the tyre performance improved. However, I’m happy with how things have gone in general and I think we can do a good job. Tomorrow I will give everything to try to improve my pace.”

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