25/05/2024

Agius & Binder ready for the battle in Barcelona

Common cause in the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 team after both Senna Agius and Darryn Binder made it out of Q1 on this qualifying Saturday, securing 12th and 18th on the grid for the sixth race Sunday of the season, where tyre management will be crucial.

When the lights go out on the 4.66-kilometre Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at 12:15 (CEST) on Sunday, Senna Agius will be doing everything he can to top his best result from France so far after a strong qualifying day. As the fastest rider in Q1, the 18-year-old Moto2 rookie paved his way into Q2, where he will already be in the thick of the points battle thanks to his 12th starting position on row 4. The Australian is confident that he can achieve a personal top result with a consistent race pace, but good tyre management will also be omnipresent for him tomorrow over the race distance.

Darryn Binder in particular struggled during the first two days of the Barcelona Grand Prix. Despite an improvement of 1.2s from Friday to Saturday, the 26-year-old was unable to get any closer to the front, as his rivals were not sleeping either. In Q1, the South African latched on to his speedy team-mate, who set the pace and the two of them entered Q2 together. In the second attack on the front grid positions, Binder was unable to reduce the gap and so ended the day in 18th place on the grid on row six. There is no doubt that the 21-lap race will be gruelling and particularly demanding on the tyres, but it will also demand maximum precision from the riders.

RESULTS

FP
1. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'42.860
2. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'43.042 (+0.182)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'43.044 (+0.184)
14. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'43.664 (+0.804)
26. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'44.563 (+1.703)

P1
1. Jorge NAVARRO/ SPA/ FORWARD – 1'42.807
2. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'43.015 (+0.208)
3. Daniel MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KALEX 1'43.044 (+0.237)
13. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'43.506 (+0.699)
30. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'44.720 (+1.913)

P2
1. Sergio GARCIA/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'41.917
2. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'41.957 (+0.040)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'41.993 (+0.076)
16. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'42.866 (+0.949)
28. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'43.496 (+1.579)

Q1
1. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'42.608
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'42.882 (+0.274)
3. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'42.903 (+0.295)
4. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'43.060 (+0.452)

Q2
1. Sergio GARCIA/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'41.894
2. Fermin ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'42.134 (+0.240)
3. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'42.182 (+0.288)
12. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'42.623 (+0.729)
18. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'43.348 (+1.454)

Senna Agius

P12 - 1'42.623 (+0.729)

"It's getting better and better. To be honest, I hoped to get straight into Q2 from Practice 2 this morning. But it was so tight, and everyone was so close. So, my lap time wasn't good enough. But when I came back into the pits and saw what had happened, we all kept calm and the plan was always to get as much out of Q1 as possible and then get through. In any case, we are getting better because we made a good step a few weeks ago. But hopefully, we can soon start to get a little closer to the sharp end. The next step for me is clearly to make better use of the tyres, there is still a lot of potential there, but our performance window is also still a little too small. Let's put it this way: the feeling is thrilling, but the tyres are very special. Everyone is certainly faster and feels better, but for me, the performance window still has to open a little. Since Friday, I've been concentrating on the pace, and I think we've made the most of it. But the tyre consumption and the question of how to handle it in the race will be decisive."

Darryn Binder

P18 - 1'43.348 (+1.454)

"To be honest, it's been quite a battle all weekend. Yesterday I was further away from the front than I've been for a long time, although I improved well this morning, but because of the track conditions everyone else made a step too and I was basically in the same position as yesterday. And that's after improving my lap time by 1.2 seconds. Of course, the track conditions were not so good, but we were still able to improve this morning. My teammate towed me pretty well in Q1, so I made it through but unfortunately, I wasn't able to reduce the gap any further in Q2. So, there is still some work to do for tomorrow and I still have to try and figure some things out. Nevertheless, it will be a long and certainly difficult race tomorrow. Tire management will be the key to success. It's really tricky, we have to be very careful in the race because 21 laps will be tough for both the front and rear tyres for sure. So I will go out and try to ride super clean tomorrow."

Moto2 Pictures – Barcelona Saturday

Back