A great final Free Practice session by Binder laid down a challenge to the rest of the field. After riding in the Top 3 for most of the session, the South African went back out with new tyres and became the only rider to break into the 2:07 range. His best time of 2:07.713 was one of three laps by him that would have given him the top spot in FP3. Bo Bendsneyder also improved his times from Friday, clocking a 2:09.103 lap to take eighteenth place. Binder was back on top from the start of qualifying, reiterating his good pace and consistent lap times. Despite having a 2:07.6 lap cancelled for exceeding the track limits, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was able to set a pole-earning time of 2:07.785 on his final attempt. It is his third pole position of the season, following similar feats in Argentina and Catalonia. Bendsneyder also achieved his best time on his final lap, with a 2:09.258 that will see him start from 25th position on the grid -part of the ninth row.
41 BRAD BINDER : “I am very happy with this third pole position of the season. I think my fastest lap was far from perfect, because the best one I did was cancelled out. The bike is working well and the more laps I do, the more comfortable I feel. There was a bit more wind in qualifying than in the morning practice session, but still I was able to lower my times. The best thing is that throughout the weekend we have been very strong; in the worst session we have had we were third, and this is very positive for us. It helps us feel strong and face tomorrow’s race confident of fighting for victory.”
64 BO BENDSNEYDER : “It was a strange qualifying session. After FP3 I had a very good feeling with the bike. We had only adjusted one thing on the front end, and when that did not work as I would have liked, I asked to back to the previous setup. I had issues with confidence when entering the corners, and I am losing too much speed although we are fairly fast. Now we have to check everything and see where we are losing the most time compared to Brad [Binder] and the others. The good thing from today is that my hand has not hurt, and that’s positive because I know I can finish the race without any problems. They say it might rain tomorrow, but I will concentrate on giving my all and trying to score further points.”
results qualifying practice:
source: ajo.fi, motogp.com
