Tulovic & Binder start Valencia final from rows 7 and 9
In the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 Team, both Lukas Tulovic and Darryn Binder alternately provided small glimmers of hope. The duo will contest the last race of the season from grid position 21 on row 7 and from P25 on row 9 and will fight for points in this constellation for the last time.
Just outside the Spanish city of Valencia, the Circuit Ricardo Tormo is surrounded by stadium-style grandstands that line the 4.01-kilometre race track. Tens of thousands made the pilgrimage to the track for qualifying on Saturday to witness the thrilling battle for the fastest times live for the last time this season.
For Lukas Tulovic, it was, for now, the last qualifying session in the Moto2 World Championship and the German's path there led him from 25th place in P1 to P16 in the third practice session of the weekend after successive improvements. Only 0.019 seconds separated him from a direct start in Qualifying 2 in the combined overall standings, but in Q1 the 23-year-old once again fought with good speed for a place in Q2, which he also narrowly missed out on in the end. Thanks to his solid feeling and strong pace, Tulovic goes into his last Moto2 battle for the time being with high hopes of finishing in the points.
Darryn Binder has two challenging days of practice behind him. The South African invested a lot of time and energy in the fight for further tenths, but even after qualifying, the 25-year-old said that there was still a lot of work ahead of him and his crew. He feels that there is potential for more, but now it is a matter of teasing it out before the final Grand Prix of the year. Like his team-mate, Binder hopes to finish the season within the points.
The final 22-lap race of Moto2 starts at 13:15 (CET).
Results
P1
1. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / KALEX – 1'34.024
2. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'34.135 (+0.111)
3. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'34.185 (+0.161)
22. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'35.372 (+1.348)
25. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'35.404 (+1.380)
P2
1. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / KALEX – 1'33.768
2. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.900 (+0.183)
3. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.951 (+0.183)
18. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'34.750 (+0.982)
20. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'34.867 (+1.099)
P3
1. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.264
2. Marcos RAMIREZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.429 (+0.165)
3. Sam LOWES/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'33.599 (+0.335)
16. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'34.063 (+0.799)
24. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'34.425 (+1.161)
Q1
1. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KALEX – 1'33.754
2. Somkiat CHANTRA/ THA/ KALEX – 1'33.851 (+0.097)
3. Ai OGURA/ JAP/ KALEX – 1'33.940 (+0.186)
7. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'34.218 (+0.464)
11. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'34.474 (+0.720)
