Brad Binder and Jorge Martin complete first day of Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain in second and third place, respectively.

The first day of the Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain saw an impressive display from Brad Binder and Jorge Martin at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit. The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo put in solid showings in both Moto2 Free Practice sessions, overcoming difficulties provided by a resurfaced asphalt and high temperatures. Binder was second and Jorge third on the combined timesheet for the day.

A time of 1:41.838 in the morning, set on the 14th of the 19 laps he put in during FP1, took the South African rider into second place. Brad Binder was only 19 thousandths of a second slower than the fastest rider, whilst his teammate, Jorge Martin, was third with a 1:41.935, contributing 18 laps.
The heat prevented the Red Bull KTM Ajo pair from lowering their times in FP2, but Brad Binder remained in the Top 10 for much of the session and kept up a consistent pace. After a total of 18 laps, the South African’s 1:42.664 time left him in twelfth. Jorge Martin suffered a small crash at Turn 5 at the beginning of the second session. His fastest lap in the afternoon was 1:43.178, for 21st place.

Both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders are provisionally into Q2, although FP3 is still to be contested tomorrow morning. The Moto2 Q1 session will be held at 3:05pm local time, followed by Q2 at 3:30pm.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)

1. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) 1:41.819
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.838 +0.019
3. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.935 +0.116
4. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 1:41.958 +0.139
5. Remy Gardner (Kalex) 1:41.972 +0.153

41 BRAD BINDER

The first Free Practice session went well and I felt comfortable on the bike. However, in FP2 we tried out several things that didn’t work as we had hoped. Nevertheless, we finished second overall and I am looking forward to continuing working tomorrow, in order to be back up at the front. We have to analyse what happened this afternoon, but I believe that if we push hard we will get a good spot on the grid.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It’s been a tough Friday. In the morning, we did a good job and I felt very comfortable. However, on the first stint I did in FP2, I crashed when we were trying something out and that made me lose a lot of confidence. I attempted to get a good feeling back, trying out different setups but I didn’t succeed. Nevertheless, we ended the day third and I hope that tomorrow we can find that boost that gives us more confidence, allowing us to be competitive again.”