25/06/2023

Binder scores points in the Netherlands, Tulovic close behind

A mixed first half of the season for the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 team came to a conciliatory end at the Dutch TT Assen with world championship points for Darryn Binder (P14), while Lukas Tulovic finished the exhausting race in sixteenth place.

Darryn Binder had to wait a long time to finish a race again after being out of action for many weeks due to injury and then being knocked out of the race twice in a row through no fault of his own. The Moto2 rookie has not been able to put in many miles in the first half of the season, so it was a relief for the South African to finish his second race of the year. It was also the first time this year that both regular riders were able to finish a race together. Despite feeling positive and making important steps over the practice sessions, the 22-lap race turned out to be extremely challenging. From the start, the 25-year-old made up three positions and lined up twelfth. He fought tenaciously to finish within the points, which he eventually did in fourteenth place. Two championship points are just the start of making up for lost opportunities after the summer break.

Fighting on the last edge, Lukas Tulovic crossed the finish line in sixteenth place after a busy weekend, missing out on the points by just one position. His development over the weekend as well as his feeling for the Kalex were good, which made the 23-year-old positive for the eighth round of the season. In the race, however, he lacked the necessary confidence in the front, which made it risky to go even further over the limit. In the upcoming summer break, last year's Moto2 European Champion wants to work hard on himself to be ready for the long and demanding second half of the season, which starts at the Silverstone Circuit from the 04th - 06th of August.

Results

Race
1. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX
2. Ai OGURA/ JAP/ KALEX – (+1.334)
3. Pedro ACOSTA/ SPA/ KALEX – (+4.448)
14. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – (+20.639)
16. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – (+29.416)

World Championship
1. Tony ARBOLINO / ITA / 148
2. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / 140
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ 104
19. Darryn BINDER / RSA / 12
21. Lukas TULOVIC / GER / 6

Lukas Tulovic

P16 - (+29.416)
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P21 - 6 Points

"I finally had a good start and good first few corners. I was able to make up one or two places. But then I struggled. I didn't have the same confidence in the front as I had all weekend. It was harder to stop the bike and I didn't have the confidence when braking into the corners. I felt like I was losing control of the front wheel if I tried harder. It's a shame because I felt so great all weekend and unfortunately not today in the race. It didn't add up and accordingly, my pace was bad, especially at the beginning and a bit better at the end, but by then I was way too far away. I hope that we will find out what the problem was and then come back stronger from the summer break. I will train very hard and prepare for the second half of the season to be as fit as I was at the beginning of the season because it was full of injuries and a lot of traveling. I have a lot of catching up to do."

Darryn Binder

P14 - (+20.639)
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P19 - 12 Points

"I am happy to have gotten a full race distance this time. It was really important today to just ride, do some laps, and try to understand everything again, get a feeling for the bike and tyres.
I am really happy that at least at the end of the race in the last couple of laps, I was able to pick up my pace again and was pretty close to my best lap from the beginning. I feel like we had more potential today but I'm satisfied to have seen the chequered flag again. I learned a lot and I'm ready to work on some things over the break now and then come back to Silverstone and do better. The race itself was good, I had a solid start and found myself in a good group of riders and even felt quite comfortable. Sadly, I made some mistakes in turn 5 putting my bike in neutral which was unfortunate but it was fun battling with the others and ending the race."

Jürgen Lingg

Teammanager

"I think we could have done a bit better today, but at least we were able to finish the race, and we shouldn't forget that at this point, Darryn is still a rookie and needs his miles after the recent tough times to get back into it. He got two points, although probably a lot more would have been possible, but unfortunately, he made three small mistakes and they were pricy. But overall it was a good weekend for him, even if we all want more, but we have to be patient now. During the summer break, we will recover well and prepare everything, then the results will come again. For Lukas, it was very annoying that he missed Q2 yesterday by such a small margin. He had a good start, but then it took him quite a long time to find a solid rhythm. He just missed out on points, but he knows what he has to do in the summer break and we as a team will support him. We will do everything to improve a little bit and then we hope that we can improve again in the second half of the season."

Dutch TT Assen – Moto2 Sunday

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