Binder decimates the field on Friday

Championship leader lays down the benchmark in Austria

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Brad Binder kept his FP1 dominance rolling on Friday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, as the South African took control of the second practice session to end Day 1 at Spielberg in P1. Gresini Racing Moto3 rider Enea Bastianini put in a final dash over the line to set the second fastest time of the day, ahead of Leopard Racing’s Fabio Quartararo.

Binder, who has a 47 point lead in the championship as the second half of the season gets underway, was the first rider down in the 1 minute 38s and then again the first to drop into the 1:37s with only a few minutes of FP1 remaining, and the South African’s stunning form at the new venue continued into the afternoon as he cut that laptime by almost a second.

Bastianini and Quartararo both had good Fridays as Austria comes back onto the calendar, with the Italian and Frenchman looking to get back some of their frontrunning form that has been interrupted through injury in 2016. Rookie Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was the next fastest, as the Dutchman put in an impressive day’s work to end Friday in P4. Sky Racing Team VR46 rider Romano Fenati completed the top 5 on Day 1, with fellow title contender Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) suffering a more difficult day to end up P11.

Juanfran Guevara (RBA Racing Team) ended Friday in an impressive P6, ahead of 2015 Indianapolis race winner Livio Loi (RW Racing GP BV) and Schedl GP Racing’s Phillip Oettl.

Francesco Bagnaia (PULL&BEAR Aspar Mahindra) was the quickest Mahindra machine in P9, in front of Leopard Racing’s Joan Mir - who completed a top ten largely dominated by KTM machinery.

There were a number of laptimes cancelled throughout the day – including some of Binder’s faster efforts – after riders exceeded track limits: something that could prove more pivotal on Saturday when qualifying gets underway.

For full results from Friday in Austria, click here