4th on the grid for Brad Binder after first ever MotoGP Qualification at Mandalika
Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder extended his fast speed through Free Practice and straight into Q2 for the second round of 2022 MotoGP. The South African will start the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia from the peak of the second row of the grid on Sunday with 4th position representing his best slot in MotoGP so far.
MotoGP teams reformed at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit for the first Indonesian fixture Grand Prix for a quarter of a century. The premier class was able to count on the recent three-day pre-season test for some familiarity with the brand-new facility but a re-laid surface, further upgrades and a stiflingly hot and unstable climate meant that preparation work for the 27-lap race on Sunday was complicated.
With track temperatures reaching 60 degrees and traction at a premium, Red Bull KTM duo Brad Binder and teammate Miguel Oliveira were able to find decent competitiveness through Friday Free Practice and held Q2 slots heading into Saturday. The sessions building up to qualification were tricky after rainfall had soaked the track and FP4 was also red-flagged to clean spilt oil from a section of the layout.
Brad scorched into the top four with his last flying attempt and for a new personal best; he had previously recorded a 6th in Mugello last summer and at Misano in 2019.
Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Remy Gardner took his KTM RC16 into the top ten quickest lap-times during Friday as the current Moto2 World Champion continued his adjustment phase to the bike and the class. He negotiated Saturday with a slick track that caught out many more experienced riders and finished Q1 with P22 on the grid. Teammate Raul Fernandez pushed hard and was just hundredths of a second faster. The Spaniard will begin from 21st.
The second Grand Prix race of 21 this season begins at 08.00 CET on Sunday.
Brad Binder:
“Today was a bit of a day tough for us all. The track conditions changed quite a lot from yesterday and the test. We had mixed conditions this morning but I wasn’t too stressed about it. In FP4 we went out to get a feel for what was going on. Overall, I’m feeling good for the race and confident. We need to be clever in warm-up an get everything ready. It’s going to be a good race. It’s very hot but I feel fast on the bike and I’m not pushing it too much. If we can make the tires last then we should be in decent shape.”