Fastest time and circuit record for Binder on opening day at Valencia
15/11/2019The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider continued proving his great form today finishing first on the combined timesheets, whilst Jorge Martin showed a solid place.
After winning the last two races in Australia and Malaysia, Brad Binder is determined to sign off from the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team in style. The South African rider recorded the best time on the combined timesheets on the opening day of the Valencia GP, also setting a new Ricardo Tormo Circuit record in the process. For his part, Jorge Martin finished Friday in 15th position, improving on his personal best from FP1 in FP2.
At the last round of the year Brad Binder picked up where he left off in the previous race, leading the way in Moto2. He was top at the beginning of FP1 and concluded the session in second position, just 0.046s down on the fastest rival. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made steady progress throughout the practice, eventually setting his personal best on his last lap: 1:35.745. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin undertook three runs, maintaining a consistent pace. Finally, the Spaniard finished FP1 in sixth place, with a time of 1:35.931.
In the afternoon, Binder performed superbly in FP2, leading the session from start to finish and beating the circuit record in the last minutes. Thanks to his excellent 1:34.622 lap, the South African was the fastest rider of the day, having improved on his morning personal best by more than a second. Jorge Martin also bettered on his FP1 time with a 1:35.642, putting him 15th in the practice.
Tomorrow the Red Bull KTM Ajo pair have one last free practice before qualifying, which will take place at 3:05 pm (Q1) and 3:30 pm (Q2) local time, respectively.
Combined practice times (FP1 – FP2)
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:34.622
2. Augusto Fernandez (Kalex) 1:35.198 +0.576
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) 1:35.293 +0.671
4. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:35.328 +0.706
5. Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta) 1:35.352 +0.730
15. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.642 +1.020
41 BRAD BINDER
“I’m very happy with how the first day went. This morning we had some problems that prevented me from getting completely comfortable. In the afternoon my feeling with the bike improved a lot. I want to thank the whole team because we took a big step forward from FP1 to FP2. The guys managed to make the changes that were necessary and we improved precisely in the aspects we needed, allowing me to make a good lap.”
88 JORGE MARTIN
“We had a great day, although we are just missing a good lap. We have a fairly competitive pace but we need to improve in some aspects if we want to be closer to the front. I hope tomorrow we can take that step forward we need, since that would allow us to fight for a position at front of the grid.”