Tulovic & Binder set important signals in Doha
So far, the Qatar Grand Prix has provided the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Team's Moto2 squad with one or two surprises. Darryn Binder, who is still suffering from an injury, showed a promising pace on his way to the seventh row of the grid, while Lukas Tulovic has his sights set on the points after his participation in Q2 finishing in 17th position.
A week after his horror crash in Malaysia, Darryn Binder was back in the saddle of his Kalex bike on time for P1 after being cleared for the start. Even though he is not yet feeling fully fit, the South African managed to fight his way back into the race action in tenth place in the first practice session. Over the course of the three practices, he was able to find a solid rhythm, which gives the 25-year-old confidence for the 18-lap race on Sunday, despite its expected to be extremely exhausting for Binder. The Moto2 rookie only just missed out on making it out of Q1, which meant that his 20th grid position on row 7 for the 19th race of the season was final.
Three positions further forward, team-mate Lukas Tulovic will start from row six after the German showed a particularly strong performance in Qatar with his fifth position in P3. Prior to that, Tulovic improved noticeably, and yet his fifth place was a pleasant surprise for the entire team around the 23-year-old. His 1'58.373 from P3 catapulted last year's European Moto2 champion into eighth place overall and thus directly into Q2, which he ultimately finished in 17th place.
In this penultimate race of the season, which starts at 16:15 (CET), the two LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Team riders will be looking to claim as many points as possible.
Results
P1
1. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 2'01.097
2. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 2'01.440 (+0.343)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 2'01.768 (+0.671)
10. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 2'02.809 (+1.712)
29. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 2'06.246 (+5.149)
P2
1. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'58.059
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'58.163 (+0.104)
3. Sam LOWES/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'58.313 (+0.254)
20. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'59.930 (+1.871)
25. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 2'00.299 (+2.240)
P3
1. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'57.895
2. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'58.087 (+0.192)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'58.203 (+0.308)
5. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'58.373 (+0.478)
27. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'59.669 (+1.774)
Q1
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'57.568
2. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KALEX – 1'58.114 (+0.546)
3. Marcos RAMIREZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'58.121 (+0.553)
6. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'58.211 (+0.643)
Q2
1. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'57.305
2. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'57.312 (+0.007)
3. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'57.333 (+0.028)
17. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'58.486 (+1.181)
