- Binder 4th fastest in qualifying at first Indonesian Grand Prix this century
- Miguel Oliveira also in Q2 and 7th for the first Grand Prix at the Mandalika circuit in Lombok
- Tech3 KTM Factory Racing 21st and 22nd quickest
Mandalika GP
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 counted on the recent three-day preseason test for familiarity with the brand-new facility, but a re-laid surface, further upgrades, and a stiflingly hot and unstable climate meant complicated preparation work for the 27-lap race on Sunday.
With track temperatures reaching 60 degrees and traction at a premium, Red Bull KTM duo Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder 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 layout section.
MotoGP Division
On the verge of starting his 50th Grand Prix in the MotoGP division, Oliveira remained rooted in the top ten, and his 7th place was a significant improvement from his efforts in Qatar two weeks previously.
The Portuguese are on the third row. Binder scorched into the top four with his last flying attempt, and for a new personal best, he had previously recorded a 6th in Mugello the previous 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.
This season’s second Grand Prix race of 21 begins at 08.00 CET on Sunday.
Brad
Brad Binder: “Today was a bit tough for us all. The track conditions changed quite a lot from yesterday and the test. This morning, we had mixed conditions, but I was not too stressed about it.
In FP4, we went out to feel what was going on. Overall, I’m feeling good about the race and confident.
We need to be clever in the warm-up and get everything ready. It’s going to be a good race. It’s sweltering, but I feel fast on the bike, not pushing it too much. If we can make the tires last, we should be in decent shape.”
Miguel
Miguel Oliveira: “It was a good step getting into Q2 yesterday and then doing a good lap. The third row is the limit for having a decent race tomorrow, so we’ll hope for a solid start and to survive. My goal is to be consistent and finish the race.
If we do this, I think we have a chance at a good result. I’m curious how the race will go because not many people have experience with long runs, but we’ve worked well so far.”
Raul
Raul Fernandez: “We were fast in Free Practice 3 this morning in difficult track conditions, which is very important for us. This afternoon in qualifying, when we had to do a lap-time, we struggled somehow. We need to focus and improve qualifying to get better positions on the grid. Tomorrow will be another day. We have a good race pace here, which makes me feel positive about race day.”
Remy
Remy Gardner: “We had a tough qualifying session today. I managed to do a good lap time during the first run, but everyone was waiting for each other in first gear during the second run, so I decided to take the lead of the group to try to do a good lap.
I pushed a lot to improve my first sector, but unfortunately, I did not produce a good enough lap-time overall. We were all expecting a bit more, but we did not manage to get where we wanted. I have a good race pace here as I did something close to a race simulation here in February during the preseason, so I am looking forward to the race on Sunday.”
Moto3 & Moto2
Unlike their peers in the premier class, the riders of the Moto3 and Moto2 categories were discovering Mandalika for the first time. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jaume Masia slid their KTM RC4s into the top eight after Friday’s Free Practice Chronos.
On Saturday, after a rainy morning that saw the track dry through the sessions, Carlos Tatay emerged as the quickest, with KTM’s Diego Moreira in 2nd place. Öncü qualified 9th with Masia 11th.
In Moto2, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta were roaming the top five as soon as practice began on Friday, but Acosta was hit with a Long Lap penalty for missing a yellow flag.
The Moto3 World Champ qualified 10th on the grid while Fernandez, who only just missed the podium in Qatar two weeks ago, will set off from 2nd place and was just a tenth of a second from his first Pole Position for the team.
Races: March 20th – Moto3 05.00 CET | Moto2 06.20 CET | MotoGP 08.00 CET
Results Qualifying MotoGP Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia
- 1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Yamaha 1:31.067
- 2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.213
- 3. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +0.311
- 4. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.366
- 5. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.437
- 7. Miguel Oliveira (POR) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.499
- 21. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:32.122
- 22. Remy Gardner (AUS) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:32.140
Results Qualifying Moto2 Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia
- 1. Jake Dixon (GBR) 1:35.799
- 2. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.102
- 3. Sam Lowes (GBR) +0.154
- 10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.952
Results Qualifying Moto3 Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia
- 1. Carlos Tatay (ESP) CFMOTO 1:41.232
- 2. Diogo Moreira (BRA) KTM +0.083
- 3. Mario Aji (IDN) Honda +0.335
- 9. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.971
- 11. Jaume Masia (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.159
- 17. Adrian Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +2.528
- 19. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo (Q1) 1:42.973
via Press KTM
