MotoGP embarked on a second Grand Prix in a row by arriving to the hot and sunny climes of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli located on Italy’s east coast and Brad Binder turned up the heat further by racing hard to 7th position in the thirteenth Sprint of 2024. The South African placed inside the top ten after setting off from 6th on the grid. Teammate Jack Miller captured 8th, improving on his qualifying spot of 12 as wildcarder Pol Esparago managed 14th. Elsewhere Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Celestino Vietti was P2 in Moto2™ Q2.
- P7 for Binder who fights for the top five after launching from the second row of the grid and through an intense 13-lap Sprint at Misano
- Miller rides strongly on Friday to make Q2 directly and then secures the 12th best lap. The Australian works his way to 8th by the flag
- 14th for Pol Espargaro in his third wildcard appearance of 2024 and with the latest development spec of the KTM RC16 and the technology the racers will test on Monday
- Jose Antonio Rueda qualifies 0.7 from Pole in Moto3™ while Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Celestino Vietti makes 2nd place on the grid in Moto2™ at his home event
Misano welcomed Grand Prix for the thirtieth time and since the first FIM world championship meeting around the flat, 4.2km coastal venue 44 years ago. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were looking to build on their decent form from the Aragon GP in Spain the previous weekend but around a markedly different circuit with the high grip conditions and mix of tight sections and fast zones.
Both Brad Binder and Jack Miller were on the pace through Friday. Jack swept into Q2 thanks to the 10th fastest time in Practice while Brad was unlucky to be nudged to 11th in the last few seconds of the one-hour session. Binder had to refocus for Q1 and was only half a second from the all-time lap record to make it into Q2. In the 15-minute dash Miller was just 0.8 from Pole and it was enough for P12 while Brad carried his momentum onwards and ranked a decent 6th, 0.4 from the best effort for the last slot on the second row.
The Sprint got underway Saturday afternoon. Brad made a positive launch and was running in P4 in the formative laps. He then fought all the way to the line to defend his position from Jack who had roamed forwards and occupied 8th, less than a second behind his teammate. Three RC16s filled the top ten and Pol put aside the bad luck of a small crash in qualifying at Turn 8 to finish 14th.
Brad Binder, 6th in qualification, 7th in the Sprint: “I knew today would be a long day. It was great to get through Q1 and we had a decent qualifying and nice to be on the second row. I knew if I had a good jump behind the guys I could get pulled along but unfortunately I just didn’t have the pace today. I was struggling with the front end and I felt like I was not carrying the corner speed. It’s clear what direction we need to go in for tomorrow so I’m confident for the race.”
Jack Miller, 12th in qualification, 8th in the Sprint: “I made up some positions and got in the rhythm with Brad and Pedro there but when I changed a mapping I had a ‘moment’ that put me a bit wide. After that I tried to control the front locks and find the pace again. I enjoyed the Sprint and made no mistakes. I could push the whole way through. I didn’t feel bad at all today.
Pol Espargaro, 15th in qualification, 14th in the Sprint: “Frustrated a bit. We had good speed but a small problem with a used front tire put us in a difficult situation and the grid place didn’t help. In the race I could not release the start device until the fourth corner and almost collided with another rider. I was trying a lot to overtake other riders then and I was not getting creative enough. But we brought information back to the box and this was the objective today.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A good qualifying for Brad and Jack. Starting from the second row was a good place to start but Brad didn’t have the right feeling from the beginning, the front mainly, while Jack had a super good start and was smart to recover some positions and then hold it until the end. Overall, we can’t be that happy but we have a platform to build the strategy for the race tomorrow.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:30.304
2. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +0.285
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.305
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +0.352
6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.444
12. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.898
15. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.471 (Q1)
17. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 1:31.538 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint San Marino Grand Prix
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:56.502
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +1.495
3. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +1.832
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +6.796
7. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +9.979
8. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +10.726
14. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +21.542
16. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +23.442
KTM Factory Racing
