Darryn takes fourth row grid spot for Portimao season opener
On Saturday’s qualifying session Darryn Binder made a perfect start to his Moto2 rookie season with 11th position on the grid.
In 17th place on Saturday morning, Darryn missed out on direct entry into Q2 by a small gap after a small slip in P3 ruined his fastest lap. He then made up for it brilliantly in the early afternoon by being one of the top 4 riders in Q1 to get his ticket for the second qualifying session, which decides the top six rows of the grid. With a pit stop halfway through the short time chase, the South African eventually raced to 11th place in his first qualifying session in the Moto2 class, putting him on row four.
Darryn Binder
P11 – 1’43.041 (+ 0.718)“I think it was a positive day for us, even if it started with a small mistake in P3. That stupid crash cost me the lap that would probably have put me straight into Q2. Still, I knew I had good pace and felt very comfortable with the bike. Q1 was not so unfavorable for me, because we were able to do some more extra laps and I gave everything to get into Q2. Fortunately, we successfully mastered this hurdle. I think I did a pretty good job in Q2 as well. In the end, of course, I wanted to get a bit more out of it. I was also doing well on my last lap until I unfortunately made a small mistake. But eleventh on the grid for my first race in Moto2 is quite respectable. The starting position is accordingly good. We have worked incredibly hard since last week. Especially in terms of pace and feeling for the bike. I am confident that we have put together a strong package for Sunday, with good pace for the first race of the season.”