Darryn looking for top ten Thai result from 16th on the grid

 In NEWS

It was not an easy start to the race weekend for Darryn Binder on the 4.55 km Chang International Circuit in northern Thailand, but the South African never gave up thanks to his fighter mentality and worked his way through the highly competitive Qualifying 1, after he only just missed out on the top 14 in the combined timesheets in 15th place.

In Q1, the 26-year-old stayed in the leading position for most of the 15-minute session until shortly before the end and finally pushed his Kalex to a perfect second place. In the subsequent Q2, he finally secured P17, which nevertheless meant sixteenth place on the grid on row six after a competitor was penalized. He has high hopes for the race, which starts on Sunday at 07:15 (CET).


Darryn Binder
P17 (Q2) – 1’35.601 (+0.873)

“This morning, I missed out on a direct entry into Q2 and ended up in P15. But those extra laps in Q1 weren’t a bad thing, because I was able to set three decent lap times that earned me a spot in Q2. Unfortunately, we only had one tyre left. We saved it for the end, but unfortunately, I touched the green on my last lap with the new tyre and the next moment the flag was out. It’s a shame that I didn’t manage to launch a time attack in the final stage. In the end, I’m 16th on the grid, but overall, the feeling has improved, and the pace isn’t too bad. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow to find a way into the top ten.”