Miguel Oliveira 10th and Brad Binder 15th on #PortugueseGP grid

 In MotoGP, News

KTM returned to one of the sites of their three 2020 Grand Prix victories for the third round of the 2021 campaign and it was home hero Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira who was the top qualifier with the KTM RC16. The Portuguese claimed 10th position at the Algarve International Circuit after his second Q2 run of the season.

Many eyes were on Miguel Oliveira for only the second visit by MotoGP to the challenging and technical Algarve International Circuit. The 25-year-old Portuguese led the KTM wing in the premier class but was also a firm favorite thanks to his dominant performance in the 2020 event last November. Both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing tried to manage with the altered tire allocation for the first MotoGP round on European asphalt.

Free Practice began in damp conditions but sunshine and pleasant temperatures graced the rest of the weekend schedule and the grippy undulating layout. Oliveira was swiftly into the automatic Q2 places and then set the 2nd fastest lap-time in FP4 as the riders took the final steps to work through race pace set-up. During the 15-minute Q2 Oliveira rose as high as 5th with his first chrono attack, he then suffered a fast crash at the right-hander Turn 9 which ended his second effort and the session altogether. In 10th spot Oliveira was still only half a second from repeating his Pole Position from 2020.

Teammate Brad Binder was close to pushing through to Q1 but a small mistake ruined his best flying lap effort. The South African had initially marked the quickest time through the first sector. Binder will eye the start lights from the fifth row and has Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci (18th) and Iker Lecuona (19th) behind him.

The 25 lap MotoGP race begins at 14.00 CET tomorrow and directly after the Moto3 Grand Prix.

Miguel Oliveira:
“It was a short qualifying. I crashed in the second run where I lost the front, and I was improving both sectors so it might have put me higher in the standings but anyway it’s all done. So, we start from the fourth row and that’s what we need to accept. The race pace was not so bad, we did a good FP4 and this morning was a good pace. We will find out tomorrow what we can achieve. I hope to make a smooth race and move forward from the start, gain as many positions as I can and do my best.”

Brad Binder:
“A little bit tough today. I would have liked to have been stronger than we were. I didn’t do a fantastic job with my riding either. It was difficult to do a really fast lap-time. In FP4 I was more comfortable so I’m excited for the race tomorrow I think we can do a good job, a solid job. I’m looking forward to a good fight and winning a lot of positions.”

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