Tenth place on the Brno grid for Brad Binder

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Brad Binder took his best Moto2 qualifying result to date with tenth place for tomorrow’s Czech Grand Prix at Brno. The day was a big one for Red Bull KTM Ajo, as in the morning it was announced that the project had been extended for two more years, with both current riders remaining part of the team in 2018.

In the last Free Practice session of the weekend, the Moto2 riders experienced completely different conditions to those of Friday. Ambient temperatures of around 30ºC and a dry track allowed them to improve their times from yesterday.

Brad and teammate Miguel Oliveira followed different strategies: While the Oliveira decided to make a pit stop to fit new tyres -placing eleventh with a 2:03.211 lap-, Brad completed the entire session with a single set -twentieth, 2:03.748.

For qualifying, the track temperature was clocked at a high of 45ºC. Brad completed his best lap on his second stint. His tenth position -2:03.062- is a big step forward for the South African, who until now had a highest grid position of 17th in the Netherlands.

Satisfied with the work done today, Brad will tomorrow undertake the first race of the second half of the season, starting at 12.20pm local time.

41 BRAD BINDER
“It was a good day. It has been a difficult weekend but in the end we have achieved a good result in qualifying, and I am very happy about it. The feeling on the bike is much better. I am very happy because it has been a difficult start to the second half of the difficult season; this morning I was struggling a lot. Thanks to the team for continuing to improve the bike. I am always faster during the race, so I will try to improve on my starting position and see how we finish.
I am very happy to continue next year with Red Bull KTM Ajo in this class. My debut year in Moto2 has not been easy due to the injuries and despite this, we are getting good results. Miguel [Oliveira] has shown that we can get podiums and I’m sure we can fight for more. I am very eager to continue learning for the fourth consecutive year in this structure.”