20/08/2023

Tulovic shines with top 10 result at Red Bull Ring, Binder injured after crash

Bittersweet race Sunday for the German LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team. While Lukas Tulovic celebrated his best result of the season so far with a tenth place, Darryn Binder, unfortunately, suffered an early crash in which he injured his back.

It is the liberation Lukas Tulovic had hoped for so much. After initial difficulties on Friday, he and his crew put everything on the line. With a completely changed Kalex they went into qualifying Saturday, where the hard work paid off with a solid starting position for the race by passing through Q1. P18 on the grid and starting chaos made for challenging first laps, but the German found his pace, which was then disrupted by numerous crashes in front of him. By the middle of the race, the 23-year-old was already in tenth place and had to just manage this position. The connection to the front was gone and so the last year's European Champion did his laps constantly and with P10 he recorded his best result of the season so far.

For Darryn Binder the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring ended early in lap three after starting from 15th position. The Moto2 rookie lost the front wheel in turn 2, unfortunately coming into the path of Sam Lowes, who was unable to avoid him, touching the grounded Binder. Unfortunately, the South African injured his back in the crash. An initial CT scan showed a fracture of the 3rd vertebral body, and further examinations will now have to reveal the length of the 25-year-old's recovery phase. The entire LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team wishes Darryn Binder a speedy recovery and a quick return.

Round eleven of the Moto2 World Championship now takes the Memmingen-based racing team to Spain, where the next world championship points are up for grabs at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from the 1st - 3rd of September.

Results

Race
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX
2. Pedro ACOSTA/ SPA/ KALEX – (+1.435)
3. Ai OGURA/ JAP/ KALEX – (+5.189)
10. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – (+35.361)
DNF Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX

Wolrd Championship
1. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / 176
2. Tony ARBOLINO / ITA / 164
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ 117
19. Darryn BINDER / RSA / 13
21. Lukas TULOVIC / GER / 12

Lukas Tulovic

P10 - (+35.361)
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P21 - 12 Points

"After the worst Friday of the season, I can be more than happy with this race result. I am also very happy with the work we did from Friday to Saturday. We completely rebuilt the bike overnight. I immediately felt more comfortable on Saturday morning and was able to go faster, even on used tyres. The strategy in qualifying was perfect, which put us into Q2. This gave us a good starting position for the race. I got a good start today, but unfortunately, there was some chaos on the first lap and I lost a few places. It was a fight for survival, everyone was really on their limit. So many people crashed in front of me, so I had to keep avoiding them, which was very scary at times. It was often very close and of course that cost a lot of time. In the second half of the race, I was on my own. The team showed me what kind of pace I had to ride and I was able to keep it up until the end. I'm very happy that I finished the race and that I was able to take home some points."

Darryn Binder

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P19 - 13 Points

"Unfortunately, the race didn't go to plan. I got off to an alright start, felt good the first couple of laps but sadly, going into turn 2, I made a small mistake and ended up tucking in the front. Unfortunately, the bike caught grip again and turned me more into the track again when I was on the ground. Sam Lowes had nowhere to go. I'm sorry for ruining his race by crashing in front of him. I've hurt my back so we will have to get some further checks to see what they say. Hopefully, I'll be back as soon as possible."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"Friday was difficult for both of our riders. However, they both improved a lot on Saturday and were both in Q2, which is always advantageous for the race. Lukas gradually fought his way forward in the race and was rewarded with a good tenth place in the end. Of course, some riders crashed out in front of him, but you have to finish a race like that first. He more than deserved the points. I also think that this result will be good for his self-confidence. We still have a lot of work to do because the gap to the top is big, but this was a positive step. I'm happy for him and his whole squad that they got their first Top 10 result today.

Darryn made good progress right after the start and made up a few places, but then, unfortunately, crashed in a duel with Sam Lowes. Unfortunately, he injured a vertebra in his back, which is really bitter. This is the second serious injury he has had to deal with this season. It will certainly take time, but we have to take the positives from this weekend because he rode a good qualifying and had a good pace in the race, but unfortunately, it was over far too early. Now we hope he recovers quickly and comes back stronger."

Austrian GP 2023 - Sunday Moto2

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