24/03/2024

Agius & Binder happy scoring points in Portugal Grand Prix

Senna Agius and Darryn Binder from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 Team left the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with their first world championship points of the still-young season after the duo battled for 14th and 15th positions together.

Moto2 newcomer Senna Agius improved from session to session in Portugal, even making the leap from Q1 to Q2, where his 13th place on the grid put him directly on course for points in Sunday's 21-lap race. In the race in question, the Australian stayed on course and remained in a good midfield position throughout the race. In doing so, he always kept his eye on the much-desired points, and even a long lap penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag could not prevent the 18-year-old from scoring points on this cloudy Sunday on the Portuguese Algarve coast thanks to P14.

South African Darryn Binder recorded another improvement. Starting the race from 20th on the grid in row seven, the likeable 26-year-old made his way into the points from the first lap onwards, where he battled against his Intact GP team-mate Senna Agius. Binder, who came away empty-handed in Qatar, is delighted to have scored at least one world championship point at the second round and hopes that this will be just the beginning of many more.

The next opportunity will come in three weeks' time at the overseas race on the legendary Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. For both drivers of the German racing team, the Grand Prix of the Americas from 12-14 April will be a small leap into the unknown, as Binder was unable to compete last year due to injury and youngster Agius has not yet been able to gain any experience at the COTA.

RESULTS

Race
1. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX
2. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – (+2.059)
3. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – (+2.610)
14. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – (+16.739)
15. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – (+17.945)

World Championship
1. CANET Aron/ SPA – 31
2. ROBERTS Joe/ USA – 29
3. GONZALEZ Manuel/ SPA – 27
17. AGIUS Senna/ AUS – 2
18. BINDER Darryn/ RSA – 1

Senna Agius

P14 - (+16.739)
Moto2 World Championship 2024 - P17 - 2 Points

"It's a bittersweet feeling. The first points of the season and the gap to the winner was the smallest I've had in the championship so far. Anyway, the first five laps were a good improvement, but during the race I had a little problem when I did an overtake under the yellow flag. I really hadn't noticed it when I went into the corner because it was quite tight and not easy to see. When I realized at the pit board that I had to drop back a position, I couldn't see the rider behind me. Nevertheless, I had to give back the position and so I had to ride super slowly. In the end, the situation was a bit confusing, and it turned into a long lap penalty. So, I thought I'd do my best afterwards and bring the points home. A big thank you to the team, we are working well because I felt the best all weekend today and we are competitive. Unfortunately, the top ten slipped away from us due to one or two mistakes, but the most important thing is that we made a good step in pace and the overall feeling is good. A big thank you to the whole LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team for the weekend, we are ready for Texas."

Darryn Binder

P15 - (+17.945)
Moto2 World Championship 2024 - P18 - 1 Point

"It was an interesting race because for the first time we were able to understand how the tyres and the whole package work over a full race distance, because Qatar was a disaster. However, it was also not an easy weekend as I had to start from P20 on the grid. I made up a few positions in the first few laps and I think I rode very aggressively at the beginning, which didn't do me any good in the end. But at the same time, I found out in the last few laps how I could work a bit better with the used tyre. So, I was able to score a point in the end. That's a positive aspect of the weekend, even if we still have a lot of work to do on the bike. I feel that in general, we are not there yet, we need to make some changes and find out how we can get faster and then we will move closer forward to the front in the races."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"We are very satisfied and delighted with our first points of the year. However, the result looks worse than it actually is when you’ve a look at the gap to the top. That's why I think it's an important step in the right direction. We learned a lot again this weekend and we have to build on that next time. The long lap penalty for Senna was a bit of a downer, because it would have been interesting to see how far forward, he could have got. But he and Darryn did a good job, as the whole team did. Many thanks to everyone for their efforts. We have to continue like this and then, the top 10 results will come soon."

Pictures Moto2 – Sunday Portimao

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