Binder & Agius on a hunt for points in the Indonesian Grand Prix
In Moto2 qualifying, LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP riders Darryn Binder and Senna Agius fought a close battle for race Sundays grid positions. The South African will contest the 15th World Championship round of the year from 13th place in row five, while team rookie Agius will lead the sixth row in P16, just 0.541s off the pole.
The Indonesia Grand Prix takes place this weekend on the picturesque island of Lombok. The venue is the ultra-modern 4.3 km Pertamina Mandalika Street Circuit, where things have been heating up since the first encounter in Moto2 free practice.
Darryn Binder used the first few minutes on Friday to familiarize himself with the racetrack. But already in the first official practice session, the 26-year-old moved up from 19th to ninth place, which made him look forward to Saturday with confidence. In similarly hot conditions, the South African with starting number 15 dropped back to nineteenth place despite setting a better time than on Friday, which meant he had to make a short detour into Q1 before entering Q2 in third place. There he found himself in the middle of a tight pole battle and secured thirteenth place on the grid in row 5, just 0.412s behind pole setter Aron Canet.
When the lights go out for the 22-lap race at 07:15 (CEST) on Sunday, Senna Agius will only know one way: forward into the points, from which he is only one position away from being sixteenth on the grid. The Moto2 rookie has already impressed on several occasions during this scorching hot weekend, finishing the first day in seventh place, despite the fact that the 19-year-old has never ridden on this unique circuit before. On Saturday morning, the Australian confirmed his strong pace with sixth place before going straight through to Q2. In the fifteen-minute session, a mistake by the youngster meant that he was unable to launch another attack and although Agius is disappointed with 16th on the grid for the moment after his strong performance so far, he is aware of his strength and pace, which makes him hungry for Sunday's Moto2 thriller, from which he is hoping for a high-scoring result.
Results
FP
1. Fermin ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.955
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'34.005 (+0.050)
3. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'34.229 (+0.274)
11. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'34.986 (+1.031)
19. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'35.709 (+1.754)
P1
1. Ai OGURA/ JPN/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.690
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.747 (+0.057)
3. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'33.853 (+0.163)
7. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'34.049 (+0.359)
9. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'34.255 (+0.565)
P2
1. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.077
2. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'33.275 (+0.198)
3. Fermin ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.441 (+0.364)
6. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'33.685 (+0.608)
19. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'34.180 (+1.103)
Q1
1. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.881
2. Sergio GARCIA/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.964 (+0.083)
3. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'34.035 (+0.154 )
Q2
1. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.434
2. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX 1'33.503 (+0.069)
3. Ai OGURA/ JPN/ BOSCOSCURO 1'33.504 (+0.070)
13. Darryn BINDER/ RSA/ KALEX – 1'33.846 (+0.412)
16. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'33.975 (+0.541)
