Despite grey skies overhead, the Moto3 riders were able to ride in the dry in the first 40-minute Free Practice session. Both Binder and Bendsneyder were inside the Top 10 throughout the session, making only a single stop in the pits. Binder completed the session third with a 2:16.114 lap, after leading the way at various times. He was just ahead of teammate Bendsneyder, whose best lap was 2:16.924. In the second session of the day, despite continuing chilly temperatures of 21ºC on track, conditions were better and the pair were able to improve on their times from the morning. Binder was back amongst the Top 3, even heading the timesheets one lap before the end. He set a 2:14.686 on his final time around the track to place second. Bendsneyder went out on used tyres, also taking a step forward in FP2. He lowered his best lap on his last attempt with a 2:16.195, which gave him 13th place overall.
41 BRAD BINDER
“Today was really good. After seeing the weather yesterday, I almost expected the same for today, but we must admit that the Moto3 riders were lucky to have both sessions on a completely dry track. We were able to try different things and we are going in the right direction for tomorrow. The wind was the biggest problem today. It was very windy and this greatly affects our riding; it is very noticeable on the rapid changes in direction and on the straight, especially the long one where you have a head wind. These bikes are small and when the wind blows it changes your line. Even doing nothing different, your times change much from one lap to another and we have to be more vigilant than ever.”
64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“FP1 went fairly well. I think we did a good job, but the weather conditions did not help. In FP2 we rode virtually the entire session with used tyres, and only on the last stint did we try out new ones. At first I encountered some traffic, but then I rode alone and, without taking a slipstream, set my best time of the day. That gives me confidence for tomorrow. In addition, during that lap I made a small mistake at Turn 2, so we can still continue to improve. I think the strategy in qualifying will be particularly important at this track; if it is dry, there will be many riders waiting, so the best option will be to set a good time at the start. But for now, I want to focus on FP3 and then we’ll see what happens, because tomorrow afternoon there is rain forecast.”
results FP2:
source: motogp.com, ajo.fi
