The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider made it through Q1 and will start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow, with Brad Binder on the seventh.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders had a tough day in qualifying at Mugello. Jorge Martin and Brad Binder both had to try their luck in Q1, with the Spaniard ultimately able to make the cut and qualify in 12th for the race on Sunday. The South African was close to making it to Q2, finally finishing 5th in the first qualy, and tomorrow he’ll start from 19th.

Jorge Martin began FP3 positively, placing himself in the Q2 positions. Unfortunately though the Spaniard suffered a crash – with no major consequences – in the first half of the session, which halted his progress. Martin was able to return to the track and finish 17th – 1:52.628. His teammate, Brad Binder, managed to reduce his time from Friday and, after completing a total of 15 laps, he finished 20th -1:52.677.

In Q1, the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders fought for the top 4, but only Jorge Martin made it into Q2, finishing second and reducing his time from the morning by nine tenth – 1:51.749. The Spaniard maintained his good pace in Q2 and qualified 12th for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix race. Meanwhile, Binder missed Q2 by just 20 thousandths of a second, leaving him fifth – 1:52.025 – in Q1.

Tomorrow he will start on the seventh row of the grid, in 19th position.
The sixth race of 2019 for the Moto2 category will start at 12:20 pm local time, with the riders set to cover a total of 21 laps.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 1:51.129
2. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 1:51.169 +0.040
3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:51.346 +0.217
4. Nicolo Bulega (Kalex) 1:51.401 +0.272
5. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) 1:51.470 +0.341
12. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:51.776 +0.647
19. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:52.025 (Q1 time)

41 BRAD BINDER

“It’s was a tough day for us and overall it’s been hard all weekend. In qualifying we managed to take a step forward but we haven’t got the result we hoped for. We still have a lot of room for improvement and luckily we have tomorrow’s warm up to find the positive points we need. It’s tricky, but the important thing is the race, so we’ll work hard to be as well prepared as possible. The team and I are going to give it everything we’ve got.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a tough day of qualifying. In Q1 I felt very comfortable, because the rubber they put down in MotoGP meant we had more grip. We took a big step forward lapping alone and I felt very good on the bike. For Q2, I tried to push a bit more but the feeling wasn’t the same. The front tyre had a few more laps on it and also I was tired from Q1. The important thing is that I maintained the same times in both sessions, I hope I can keep up the pace and be in front tomorrow.”