Brad lines up eighth on Qatar grid

The first Qualifying session of both the season and of the new format took place this Saturday at the Losail International Circuit, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders looking to take a strong grid position for the Qatar GP. Brad Binder and teammate Jorge Martin, whose times from Friday were good enough to take them directly through to Q2, will take off from eighth and eleventh, respectively, at the season opener.

Times from Friday went untroubled early on due to the conditions, but Brad maintained a good pace throughout the session, although a small crash on the final corner of his hot last lap left him eighth.

In the 15-minutes Q2 session, the South African lowered his personal best from Friday and set a 1:59.038, placing him on the third row in eighth.

The race gets underway on Sunday at 6:20pm local time.

#41 BRAD BINDER
“Today has gone pretty well. Taking into account the different problems we have had to deal with since the test, eighth on the grid for the race is a positive result. I lacked a bit of pace but I think tomorrow we can get that extra boost we need if we push hard and try our best. I feel steady, so tomorrow I will try to work my way up the field, looking to ride fast laps and avoid early mistakes.”