In the sprint race at Aragon, Brad Binder recovered from an unexpected start to finish in a respectable position, although any chance of a podium finish soon faded.
Though he thought he had the pace to finish on the podium, Binder was facing an uphill battle in just a few seconds after qualifying in seventh place.
“I really got off to a slow start,” the KTM rider said.
Upon takeoff, I immediately began to spin. Up to Turn 1, it rotated continuously.
I didn’t have enough speed to brake hard enough to unclip my gadgets, lift the rear, or unclip the front when I got to Turn 1.
Thus, I spent the whole of the first lap jammed down! It was very awful.
“I started off losing a lot of spots. I then made an effort to move forward and get my bearings.
“I was not perfect. We were generally on the back foot due to a poor start with a lot of spin, and I made an excessive effort to catch up.
“Hopefully, we can get off the line clean this Sunday.”
In the end, Binder placed sixth in the sprint race.
After placing thirteenth, teammate Jack Miller said, “It felt weird on the track; it was almost like riding in the rain.” You are not allowed to move erratically.
OLIVEIRA ‘FELT SLOW’
Miguel Oliveira, a trackouse rider, qualified eighth and placed fifth overall. “Obviously, we need to focus on the positives,” he stated. We finished in the points and gained three positions.
However, I thought that I wasn’t competitive enough and that I rode the bike rather slowly.
It is challenging to stop, to control the deterioration of the back tire, and to control the front tire.
“I predict that Sunday will be more difficult. The group is trying to figure out how to maximize the value of the package.
We are entirely focused on the opportunity to earn points. The course is challenging for us, but the speed appears to be there.
BASTIANINI:’DRAMATIC’ QUALIFICATION.
Enea Bastianini of Ducati battled to finish 14th in the qualifying round but held seventh place in the sprint.
“The feeling in qualifying was dramatic for me,” he responded.
“I altered the start and tried a lot of remedies, but nothing worked. I made an effort to the fullest.
It was not feasible to proceed straight to Q2. I was 14th as the sprint began.
Over the sprint, the track got a little better. It was considerably easy to bike and I was comfortable.
“Seventh place is good, I can feel content.”
