Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder has ended Day 1 at the Motul TT Assen in top spot after setting a 1:37.398 at the very end of Moto2™ FP2 to beat second fastest Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) by 0.132, with FP1 pacesetter Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completing the top three.
In the dying moments, @BradBinder_41 steals the limelight! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 28, 2019
The @RedBull_KTM_Ajo rider tops free practice Friday for the #Moto2 class ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/sIzQPloHio
It was Lowes who once again set the pace throughout the afternoon session, the British rider building and improving on his 1:38.151 in FP2 to sit comfortably clear of the field heading into the latter stages of FP2. But Gardner, who finished fourth in the opening Free Practice session, would then go slightly quicker than his fellow Kalex rider in the final ten minutes to sit top of the tree.
The first few flying laps come through! ✊@SamLowes22 ups the ante and is the first rider into the 37's! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/FwUJEhUukC
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 28, 2019
And it looked like it would stay that way, but with the chequered flag waving a certain KTM rider was on a march. Binder, having just saved a crash at Turn 9, set the timing screens alight and would have the final say on Friday to top a whole host of Kalex chassis. Have KTM found the improvements they have been looking for?
Fourth on Day 1 is Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), he finished 0.287 from Binder’s time to head Championship contender Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) by just 0.002 as the German rider improves from a P10 in FP1. In turn, Navarro sits 0.007 ahead of title rival Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) – a swap from what we saw in FP1 – as the riders all improved their times towards the end of the session. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) sat second at one stage, the Italian had to settle for P7 at the end of the day, an improvement nevertheless from P11 this morning to lead Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40), Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Binder’s teammate Jorge Martin complete a top ten covered by just four tenths in Assen. The latter also going well on the KTM to leapfrog his way to 10th from 16th in FP1.
After a heavy crash in FP1 at Turn 9, Dimas Ekky Pratama (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) has been declared unfit for the Dutch GP after sustaining a Cranial Thoracic Abdominal trauma.
Will Binder hold his advantage ahead of qualifying? Automatic Q2 places are still up for grabs and with dry weather expected, FP3 could well decide the Q1 and Q2 places yet. Don’t miss a single lap of the action in the Moto2™ class on Saturday morning, with FP3 going green at 10:55 local time (GMT+2).
Top 10 combined:
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:37.398
2. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 0.132
3. Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.194
4. Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.287
5. Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.289
6. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.296
7. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.318
8. Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) + 0.403
9. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.466
10. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.474
Click here for the full results!