Brad Binder and Jorge Martin had a solid opening day at the Czech Grand Prix, improving on their FP1 times in FP2.

Following the three week summer break, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders were back at work at Brno on Friday, as the opening day of action at the Czech Grand Prix took place. Brad Binder, who finished second in the morning practice session, provisionally qualified for Q2 after finishing 11th on the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheet. His teammate, Jorge Martin, concluded the day 22nd.

Brad Binder started the day in good shape, lapping in the Top 5 for most of FP1 and provisionally leading the session twice. On lap 10 of a total of 14, the South African registered a 2:02.140 time, which was the second fastest time and was just 0.060s behind the top rider. On the other side of the box, Jorge Martin continually improved during the 40-minute practice. The Spaniard achieved his personal best on his last attempt – 2:03.374 – to finish 17th.

In FP2, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 pair both took steps forward, improving on their morning time. In the first part of the session Brad Binder worked on longer runs. Thanks to a 2:02.113 set on his last lap, he finished FP2 in 11th position, just four tenths off the fastest time of the day. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin worked on the set-up of his bike, achieving a better feeling on track. On his last attempt, the Spaniard went round in his best time of the day – 2:02.834 -, to finish in 22nd place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo have their final free practice tomorrow morning, before the Moto2 grid for the Czech GP is contested in Q1 and Q2, at 3:05 pm and 3:30 pm, respectively.

Combined practice times (FP1 – FP2)
1. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) 2:01.695
2. Nicolo Bulega (Kalex) 2:01.730 +0.035
3. Tetsuta Nagashima (Kalex) 2:01.758 +0.063
4. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 2:01.885 +0.190
5. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 2:01.886 +0.191
11. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:02.113 +0.418
22. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:02.834 +1.139

41 BRAD BINDER

“It was a pretty positive day. FP1 went well, although we had to deal with a few problems that occurred during the session. In the afternoon, it was a bit harder to find the right direction. I know the team are working very hard, so I’m very happy about that. Now is the time to sit down and analyze all the information we gathered today. I hope that tomorrow we can take further steps forward to allow me to improve my feeling on track. Today we tried out some new material and we have to allow ourselves some time to adapt to it.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a tough Friday, as we started working from scratch with new material. The team are working really hard to find the right way forward. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow so that we can make the most of day and try to make some progress. The positive point is that we improved from the morning to the afternoon and bit by bit I adapted better to the bike. We have to work hard if we want to be in the Top 10 again however, I believe in the team. Tomorrow we’ll give it 100% to get a good grid position.”