The Qualifying for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas did not go entirely to plan for Senna Agius and Darryn Binder of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 Team, with Darryn Binder having to start the Texas challenge from the last position on the grid.

Suffering from a cold, Darryn has struggled noticeably in the training sessions so far this weekend, especially as the COTA is extremely physically demanding. The 26-year-old South African was in the midfield during the sessions on Friday and Saturday morning but was unable to set a time due to cancelled lap times and a crash in the short, 15-minute Q1, which ultimately put him at the back of the grid.

Darryn Binder
Q1 – Not classified

“It has been a pretty tough day. This morning, I made good improvements compared to yesterday and felt a bit more confident with the bike, but unfortunately, things didn’t really go to plan in qualifying. It started with the first two laps when I touched the green and as a result, the times were cancelled. Then I came in to change the rear tyre. Unfortunately, after I got back out on track, I made a mistake on my first flying lap going into turn eight. I ended up crashing. It was just a small fall when the front tucked, but I’m fine. So, we start from the back of the grid tomorrow, which means a lot of work to do, but let’s see what we can do. It’s a difficult start to the year because we are still struggling to find a comfortable base set-up for the bike. Step by step we are understanding more and more, but it is still a challenge to get everything together. We see tomorrow’s race as a good practice where we can gather good information lap by lap before we return to Europe.”