Having been teammates to Luis Salom in 2012 during his rookie campaign in the Moto3™ World Championship, Friday’s news was hard to take for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo). But the South African did his best to honour the memory of his friend by heading out on track and riding as hard as he could. The first session of the day, Free Practice 3, was spent learning the revised layout of the circuit, Binder struggling a bit through the new corners. Come Qualifying time, he and his experienced crew were able to turn the situation around and went for a hot lap in the final minutes. Traffic was again an issue and it wouldn’t be until the very end of the session in which a gap on track opened. Binder went on to set a 1’54.024 to take just the second pole position of his career. He now looks to become the first rider to ever take four straight wins in the Moto3™ World Championship.
Brad Binder: “Taking pole position was totally unexpected. The truth is that in FP3 we suffered a bit on the new section of the track, but we solved this issue in the afternoon. The goal was to go fast in the race simulation and ensure that we get in the top six for tomorrow, but I felt very strong in QP and I pushed my hardest. At the end there was a large group of riders on the final sectors, with a lot of them going wide, but fortunately I was able to hold on and take pole.
“Luis Salom was my teammate in 2012, one of the best years of my life. I'll miss him, but I’ve also got so many good memories of him.”