Brad Binder and Jorge Martin recorded their best times of the weekend and tomorrow they will start from the third and seventh rows of the grid respectively.

An intense qualifying day at Silverstone on Saturday saw the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders focused on their objective of improving in each session, with Brad Binder making it through from Q1 to qualify on the third row of the grid at the British Grand Prix. Jorge Martin is on row seven, after missing Q2 by less than a tenth of a second.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo enjoyed the good weather conditions on Saturday morning in the final free practice of the British Grand Prix. Brad Binder improved on his best time of the weekend with a 2:05.555 lap on his first run, staying in the Q2 slots for most of the session. Ultimately, the South African ended 15th, just 0.061s off the direct Q2 positions. For his part, Jorge Martin had a tricky time in FP3, completing 14 laps and finishing 24th – 2:06.333.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders therefore both participated in Q1, where Brad Binder made it through to Q2 by finishing second, with a 2:05.146. Minutes later, the South African again reduced his lap time in Q2, stopping the clock at 2:04.901, ending the session in eighth position. Jorge Martin, meanwhile, took a significant step forward in Q1, beating his previous personal best of the weekend by more than half a second, lapping in 2:05.401 to finish fifth – just one tenth off the cut.

Tomorrow’s 18-lap Moto2 race will start at 2:30 pm local time.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 2:04.374
2. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) 2:04.417 +0.043
3. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 2:04.587 +0.213
4. Remy Gardner (Kalex) 2:04.703 +0.329
5. Xavi Vierge (Kalex) 2:04.770 +0.396
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:04.901 +0.527
19. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:05.401 (Q1 time)

41 BRAD BINDER

“It was a difficult day for us and in general at this Grand Prix things have been hard. I’m not satisfied with the result because we know we can be higher up. However, I’m happy because I did my best to get eighth position. For tomorrow it will be important to make a good start and fight hard from the beginning.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a tough day overall. In the afternoon we improved a bit, as we hadn’t quite found the way forward in the morning. However, we only just missed Q2. I hope that tomorrow in the race we can take that step forward that we need, so that we can be with the front group. I’ve been sick all weekend and that is holding me back. Anyway, I will do my best.”