Red Bull KTM Factory Racing steadied, rallied and attacked the critical point of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas to score valuable MotoGP World Championship points in the third round of 21 on the schedule. Brad Binder sits 6th in the series standings after scoring 9th at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, while Jack Miller steered his KTM RC16 to 13th.
Hot and breezy weather coated a decent crowd at the large COTA race facility and as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing faced-up to 20 long laps of the winding 5.5km course with 20 turns of varying speed, entry and technical demand. Brad Binder and Jack Miller accelerated from the sixth and fourth rows of the grid respectively.
Miller, as usual, was rapid away from the line thanks to the configuration of his #43 KTM RC16 and slotted into the chase for fifth position in the formative stages. Binder had to be even more proactive to win time and places during the opening circulations. The South African diligently moved up the order to invade the top ten and then made sure of 9th. Jack suffered with rear grip in the final laps and the circumstances affected his lap-times. He eventually made the line in 13th.
After three rounds Brad has accumulated 49 points to lie 6th in the table. Jack has 22 and sits 10th. The team are 4th in the standings. Spain next. The Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto boasts almost forty years of history as an atmospheric and staple part of the Grand Prix calendar. Round four comes to life from April 26-28.
Brad Binder, 9th: “A tricky race for us even though I got the best launch of my life! I think that was the highlight. In Turn 1 I tried to rail the outside to gain as many positions as I could and with the mess between riders there I unfortunately broke my rear wing and front left wing. 20 laps around COTA with that missing wasn’t much fun. I could finally find a rhythm between that situation and my tire and make some pace. A difficult weekend and one to forget although I think our GP here looks a lot worse than it was!”
Jack Miller, 13th: “I felt good in the group for the first six laps and very comfortable. The bike was working better than yesterday but then from lap seven I ran into some grip issues immediately and it just got worse. I couldn’t carry corner speed. It was a bit confusing after we’d done ten laps and pushed so hard in the Sprint. I’d been managing the tire and building it up, so it’s very strange. I just tried to ride as defensively as I could for the rest of the race. We’ll have a look at the data. I felt I could have done a good job here.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We knew this GP would be tricky! Jack started really well but lost feeling and dropped. The first half of the race was amazing, fighting in the leading group and we need to analyze what happened. Brad got away really well from the sixth row but had that contact in the first corner and lost some bodywork there. He didn’t have the best racing conditions but recovered positions and brought some points home. We’re looking forward to Jerez because there are a lot of signs that the bike is working well – we saw it with Pedro [Acosta] today - and we believe it will perform at a high level again there.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Americas
1. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia 41:09.503
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +1.728
3. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +2.703
9. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.931
13. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +24.011
14. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +27.652
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ITA) Ducati, 80 points
2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati, 59
3. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia, 56
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 54
6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 49
10. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 22
16. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 7
KTM GP Academy
Jose Antonio Rueda had again demonstrated his rapid potential in Moto3 by continued fast pace through practice in just his second visit to COTA. The Spaniard qualified 2nd and with a clean view from the middle of the front row but was then struck down by an appendicitis that required surgery on Saturday evening and the youngster missed the Grand Prix.
Xabi Zurutuza had finally arrived at the permitted age to make his Moto3 world championship debut for Red Bull KTM Ajo and took his first laps, overtakes and lessons at the highest level. The teenager started from 23rd and met the checkered flag in 13th for his maiden Moto3 points.
Celestino Vietti was just over half a second from Pole Position in Moto2 on Saturday and the slender difference between the field meant the talented Italian ignited his race from the fifth row. He then engaged in a tough three-rider battle on the edge of the top ten, scoring 10th for his efforts. Deniz Öncü made more steps in his Moto2 education. The Turk strived to implement his style and speed throughout the 16 laps. He finished 22 and seven places from the points but with more vital knowledge of the requirements of the intermediate class.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Americas
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 31:38.427
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +5.163
3. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda +5.176
6. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna IntactGP +13.730
8. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 +19.126
9. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +19.325
13. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +22.869
DNF. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna IntactGP
DNS. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 65 points
2. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 63
3. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM, 28
5. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna IntactGP, 22
6. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna IntactGP, 21
7. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 20
9. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 20
11. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, 19
20. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 3
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Americas
1. Sergio Garcia (ESP) 34:25.954
2. Joe Roberts (USA) +0.492
3. Fermin Aldeguer (ESP) +3.293
10. Celestino Vietti (ITA) Red Bull KTM Ajo +12.751
17. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna IntactGP +19.460
20. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO +26.351
22. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +33.210
23. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO +43.821
27. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna IntactGP +1:17.291
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Sergio Garcia (ESP), 51 points
2. Joe Roberts (USA), 49
3. Alonso Lopez (ESP), 38
10. Celestino Vietti (ITA) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 22
18. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna IntactGP, 2
20. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna IntactGP, 1
21. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1
24. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO, 0
27. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO, 0