Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team come back strong in San Marino GP race
15/09/2019Binder and Martin both made big steps forward in the race and wrapped up an intense weekend of hard work at Misano by finishing 6th and 12th, respectively.
The 13th World Championship round of 2019 saw the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team pushing to improve in every session, with their hard work paying dividends in the race as both their riders produced strong comebacks. Brad Binder made up 10 positions to finish in a creditable sixth place, whilst Jorge Martin, who took off just behind his teammate on the grid, ended 12th.
The South African made a great start from the sixth row, which saw him move up from his grid position of 16th to 13th place by the end of the first lap. Thanks to his consistent pace, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider produced a solid comeback, continually moving through the field to eventually get up to sixth place on the last part of the race. As the San Marino Grand Prix concludes, Brad Binder retains fifth place overall in the World Championship, with 135 points.
For his part, Jorge Martin had a positive race which saw him finish six places higher than his position on the starting grid. The Spaniard showed great overtaking technique and produced a consistent pace, ending the Grand Prix in 12th position. The current Moto3 World Champion got into the points for the fifth consecutive race, and now sits 17th in standings, with 30 points.
The next challenge for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team is the Aragon GP, which takes place next weekend (20th-22nd September), at MotorLand Aragon.
Results (Moto2 Race)
1. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 41:12.535
2. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) +0.186
3. Alex Marquez (Kalex) +1.283
4. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) +2.733
5. Sam Lowes (Kalex) +8.764
6. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +8.952
12. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +20.511
Moto2 World Championship Standings 2019
1. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 197 points
2. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 171 points
3. Thomas Luthi (Kalex) 159 points
4. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) 155 points
5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 135 points
17. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 30 points
Aki Ajo – Team manager
“It has been a tough weekend for us in Moto2. We started quite far back on the grid and that makes it hard. However, although we struggled in all the practice sessions, we had a positive Sunday. Brad [Binder] has got a Top 6 result and Jorge [Martin] finished in the points, so we have to be happy after such a difficult GP.”
41 BRAD BINDER
“It was a tough race. In general, we found it hard throughout the weekend. The team did the best job possible, but we just didn’t find that extra little bit that would have allowed us to fight for the podium. We gave it the maximum effort and now it’s time to think about the next Grand Prix.”
88 JORGE MARTIN
“It was a difficult weekend, as I just didn’t feel comfortable on the bike and I also had two crashes. Yesterday we took a step forward in qualifying and today we improved in the warm up, but still the feeling wasn’t that good. At the end of the race, I was on the pace but at the beginning I struggled a lot, so I have to keep working hard. Getting into the points is our objective, in order to keep learning. If we apply all the knowledge we gained here in the next race, we can produce a good performance.”