Darryn Binder Scores Strong 12th in Catalan Heat

“It was a good race for me today. I knew that my Qualifying position yesterday didn’t really indicate what I was capable of. Anyway, I got off to quite a good start. I was a bit unsure during the race about how much to push in the beginning because I knew the tyre was going to wore off, but I wasn’t really sure about how much. I still had a really good race, I battled with some really big names that have achieved a lot, so I really enjoyed it a lot. Remy got the better of me on the last lap and I just didn’t have anything left to get back at him, but it was cool. Step by step I feel like I’m heading in the right direction. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s test to try to improve on the soft tyre for Qualifying to get a better starting position, which should make my life easier on a Sunday.”

“I’m a bit disappointed, because this weekend overall was quite a bit better. We arrived at the race with an improved feeling, but unfortunately, Bradl crashed in front of me in turn 10 of the first lap and I lost four positions. I couldn’t overtake other riders, I’m not able to accelerate well and on the brake in the front it was really difficult. It was locking and I couldn’t brake, so I couldn’t overtake. I was able to manage the rear tyre in the right way and I knew I could be competitive at the end of the race and catch the group with Alex Marquez in front of me. But when I was behind some other guys with the slipstream, I couldn’t stop the bike, the front logged, I did a long run and it just wasn’t good. I’m disappointed about that, because my speed was a bit better than the others, but it is what it is.”

"Another strong performance by Darryn Binder battling with the likes of Franco Morbidelli and Jack Miller. To finish 12th is a very solid performance by Darryn after coming through an unsatisfied Qualifying. So, he certainly has made up for it and that was a very good race from him that shows he is able to continue the momentum in racing. So, the team is very happy, now he is back to become second in the rookies. We hope that he can continue his progression to Sachsenring in two weeks’ time.”

“For Andrea, we were hopeful to score some points in the race, but unfortunately, he suffered some kind of issue with his front tyre, which the team is still trying to determine the cause. So far we couldn’t really figure out what the reason was. But we will not give up, there is still time to turn his season around and hopefully with this test on Monday and this short well-deserved break before Germany, we can come back fresh and stronger."

“This ninth round was very positive for Darryn. He did a fantastic race and was even fighting for a top 10 spot at a certain point. He finally finished 12th and I think with four points he can be very proud about himself. The weather conditions were crazy, it was very hot, 55 degrees on track, so the tyres dropped a lot. Anyway, he was fighting until the end with some great names. He did fantastic and we can say, he made a good step forward, especially in racing. He still needs to grow a bit in terms of performance when he is on his own, then he struggles a bit, but he is still second in the rookies standings with 10 points. Seeing the other side of the garage, Andrea actually had a strong pace as well. He didn’t have the best start, but was later in the same group. Unfortunately, from lap three onwards, he had some issues with the front tyre. It’s still unclear, as the tyre was looking ok from the outside and the pressure was good, so we need to investigate a bit more. Clearly, the front was locking because of the tyre temperature and conditions, but other than that we were not able yet to find out, what exactly happened, but we are working on it.”