Red Bull KTM Factory Racing sought to send their MotoGP opposition into a spin through the ceaseless corners of the Sachsenring as Jack Miller and Brad Binder aimed for podium presence at the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Miller sealed 6th as Brad Binder came away from the seventh round of twenty empty-handed after a fall from 3rd position.
Each day of the German Grand Prix had been affected by rain showers and a 3.6km racetrack that moved from wet to dry conditions. Sunday, and the second fixture of three back-to-back races, produced warm, summer weather, and the German fans packed the stands and banking around the Sachsenring course.
Jack Miller and Brad Binder both made their customary strong starts from 3rd and 9th places on the grid respectively. The short Sachsenring layout meant a 30-lap distance and where tire preservation would be key to consistent pace. Miller had the holeshot but two slips in the first two laps put him on the edge of the group going for the top five. Binder fought his way to 3rd and had a 3.7 second margin to 2nd when he lost traction momentarily in Turn 9, ran off the track and fell into the gravel. Jack persisted and reached the checkered flag in 6th.
The championship standings still make for some positive reading for the factory crew: Binder is 5th in the table while Miller is 7th and 17 points from his teammate. KTM are the second-best Constructor and the crew lie 4th from 11 in the Teams rankings.
Without lifting a finger from the brake, MotoGP makes the relatively short trip to the north of the Netherlands where the TT Circuit Assen will welcome another vast attendance and bring the series to round eight before the summer break.
Jack Miller, 6th: “A good start as always. My bike gets off the line so well. Maybe there was a bit too much commitment into The Waterfall on the first lap; I almost became a statistic in that corner. It was pretty close! It shook me up a little but I was able to regroup over the next 5-10 laps and build into it. I was just missing a bit of pace today. Nothing terrible, but the other guys were building up a tenth here and there. I started coming back on those in front of me but, generally, we need a bit more speed at the start of races without worrying about the tire. Overall, a decent weekend here, and time now to roll onto Assen and get this triple header done.”
Brad Binder, DNF: “I had quite a good start and things were going well. My guys did a great job with the bike and I felt amazing. I was riding very clean and saving my tire. I could not run the pace of the first two guys but I was set in 3rd. Unfortunately, when I grabbed the front brake at the bottom of the hill I locked the front wheel a little bit and my left foot slipped off the footpeg. I was then going wide and off the track. I kept the lean angle but when I came to pick it up, the rear let go on me and I ended up crashing. Disappointing because I know I could have at least fought for a podium and the team deserved it. Thanks to the guys for all their hard work. Let’s give it a go next week.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “A shame today. Brad said the bike was working better for him today compared to yesterday and he had a better feeling. He had a moment while losing the front, he tried to save it but then crashed when he hit the gravel. He is fine and will be ready for the next race but it was a shame he could not get his podium. Jack made a great start but then had a big moment down the hill. He had good race pace but lacked that perfect feeling to make positions back. Onto Assen now and the last race of this triple-header. We gathered more good information this weekend but we just feel a bit bad for Brad that he missed the podium.”
Results MotoGP Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 40:52.449
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.064
3. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +7.013
6. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +11.904
DNF. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
World championship standings MotoGP
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 160 points
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 144
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati, 126
5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 96
7. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 79
KTM GP Academy
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü made an excellent start to the 23-lap Moto3 Grand Prix and was one of four riders that grouped together and pursuing podium spots in Germany. The quartet narrowed to a duo as the Turk chased Ayumu Sasaki and shadowed the Japanese pacesetter despite dealing with episode of cramp in his left leg. On the last lap Öncü judged his final corner attack to perfection and passed his rival to win by nine hundreds of a second. It was the 19-year-old’s first GP victory and the first for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team in 2023 as well as being his second successive rostrum celebration.
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Daniel Holgado started brightly with his brandmate but then dropped back into a scrap for 3rd and duly captured the final podium spot. The championship leader, who has only dropped out of the top five once, opened Prosecco for the fourth time in 2023. The Spaniard now has a 41-point cushion in Moto3. Red Bull KTM Ajo head the Teams’ standings and KTM have a vast 61-point advantage as the top Constructor.
Rookies Jose Rueda and Filippo Farioli finished 13th and 21st respectively.
Deniz Öncü: “Incredible! I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long and it arrived! We have been working really hard and we’ll keep doing so. I had some cramps in my leg but we still finished and it was a clever move into the last corner. Amazing today: I still don’t know what to say. In fact, I want to say a big thanks to the team and everyone who helped me to get here. We could show our potential today and we will always push our limits.”
Daniel Holgado: “A difficult race for me, my pace was not great but these are good points for the championship and we are still leading. We’ll now focus on Assen. Thanks to the team for the amazing job this weekend.”
A perfectly clear track view was earned by Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta through Q2 as the Spaniard rounded off his high pace in practice with his first Pole Position of the season on Saturday afternoon. Starting from P1 for the 25-lap dispute gave the youngster a distinct advantage and Acosta tried to cash his chips from the first turn. He made his superiority count and claimed his fourth win and fifth podium of the campaign to-date. Albert Arenas transformed his consistent top ten speed into 9th place by the end of the affair.
Pedro Acosta: “I’m super-happy. More than just the victory it was also our competitiveness across the whole weekend. Maybe it was also the first time that we were very fast in the wet. The team was super-amazing this weekend. I knew it was a good track for us. The target is to get closer to the championship lead and we are improving this year. I have a better level this season and at every track we are closer to the track record.”
The second race of the 2023 Northern Talent Cup appointment saw a clutch of the fastest teens from the northern region of the continent take their KTM race-kitted machinery into battle for another 15-lap bout. After securing victory on Saturday Martin Vincze had to concede the checkered flag to Rocco Sessler on Sunday. The ‘NTC’ now moves to Most in the Czech Republic next week for round five of seven.
Results Moto3 Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
1. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo 33:10.531
2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.095
3. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +12.074
13. Jose Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +21.034
21. Filippo Farioli (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +43.725
World championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 125 points
2. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda, 84
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM, 81
5. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 78
9. Jose Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 42
26. Filippo Farioli (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 2
Results Moto2 Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
1. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 35:15.315
2. Tony Arbolino (ITA) +2.730
3. Jake Dixon (GBR) +2.825
9. Albert Arenas (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +15.219
World championship standings Moto2
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA), 139 points
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 124
3. Alonso Lopez (ESP), 82
13. Albert Arenas (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 34