Brad Binder 11th and Pol Espargaro 12th in the #AragonGP

Brad Binder was the top Red Bull KTM RC16 finisher after 23 challenging laps of the MotorLand Aragón circuit for the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón. The South African classified 11th just ahead of his teammate Pol Espargaro. KTM celebrated podium presence in both the Moto3™ and Moto2™ categories.

A chilly autumn climate in Aragón greeted the tenth round of 2020 MotoGP. Cold winds and low temperatures forced the Grand Prix schedule to be moved later in the day and to suit the safe operating range of the Michelin tires. The search for grip and consideration of tire wear were the two pressing issues for the Red Bull KTM contingent for the fourth outing on Spanish asphalt this season.

Pol Espargaro was joined by teammate Brad Binder and the Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC16s of Iker Lecuona and Miguel Oliveira as the quartet circulated on the fringes of the top ten for large stretches of the race. Espargaro was overtaken by Binder in the final phases and the South African won the chase to 11th by only three tenths of a second. Behind Espargaro in 12th Lecuona passed the checkered flag in 14th for the rookie’s sixth points-score in the last seven rounds. Oliveira was 16th.

Espargaro is 9th in the world championship standings with Oliveira 10th and Binder 11th.

Brad Binder:
“A challenging weekend in general. We had some good sessions but also some where it did not really work out for us. The whole team worked really hard and we tried different things but we couldn’t find the solution. Today I rode my best and tried my hardest from lap one until the end. It was easy to fold the front end today and we lacked some feeling there. It was hard to stay calm and not over-attack the corners. We’ve got the whole week to analyze and come back stronger next weekend.”

Pol Espargaro:
“It wasn’t an easy day. We already had a tough job from the grid and on the first laps other riders were touching each other and bits of bikes were flying around! I lost a few positions and was stuck behind some guys but didn’t really have the whole package performing as I needed to today. It’s disappointing but we know we need to work and come up with some ideas to be better for next weekend. We have another chance here at MotorLand and we’ll push for much more.”