Sun-blasted San Marino saw Dani Pedrosa and Brad Binder also hot for speed on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MotoGP RC16s as the Spaniard and South African thrilled the fans with a close battle for 3rd and classified 4th and 5th respectively at round twelve of the series.
- Dani Pedrosa takes the latest race and test spec version of the KTM RC16 to the second row of the grid in 5th and finishes 4th in the Sprint for what was his second wildcard appearance of 2023.
- Brad Binder starts from 7th and shadows Pedrosa in a gripping chase for the final podium spot. Brad earns five points for 5th.
- Jack Miller qualifies in Q1 and then fights for progression from 18th on the grid. The Australian crosses the line in 16th.
Only days after the Catalan Grand Prix, MotoGP set-up in the sweltering climes of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for round twelve of the series and a busy agenda. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing swelled to three runners with the addition of test rider Dani Pedrosa alongside Brad Binder and Jack Miller and with the knowledge that a full schedule of testing work remained ahead on Monday after the 27-lap race.
Hot summer conditions graced the 4km and 16 flat curves of Misano where high grip and tight turns formed the bulk of the challenge through practice and qualification. Binder made the cut direct to Q2 on Friday and was joined in group by Pedrosa who was just fractions of a second from the top of the time sheets. A fall at Turn 3 interrupted Miller’s work and the Australian placed 8th in Q1 on Saturday morning.
Q2 honors belonged to Pedrosa, who was just over half a second from Pole Position, but Binder’s best lap was less than a tenth slower and allowed the South African to obtain 7th and the tip of the third row. The Sprint took place over 13 laps and through the hottest part of the day. Pedrosa was immediately in 4th place and gave chase to Francesco Bagnaia for the duration. Binder forced his way up to 5th with a combination of gutsy braking moves and expressive line choices. He closed-up to the Pedrosa/Bagnaia duel to make a three-way fight but missed another lap or two to nudge his way past. Jack Miller, missing that small edge of competitiveness in the first and third sectors of the lap made the flag in 16th, later changed to 15th after the application of post-race penalties for track limit infringements.
MotoGP runs the habitual timetable on Sunday with the main event happening at 14.00 CEST.
Brad Binder, 7th in qualification, 5th in the Sprint: “I think that was the worst start of my life and I got hit three times on the first lap! It meant things were interesting after that! I put some moves out and had good pace. I could come back and catch Dani and Pecco, and it was a pity it wasn’t the full race distance today because I think we could have done something. In the end I was happy enough with 5th after everything that had happened. Dani was really impressive; he rides so clean, so smooth. He is special to watch.”
Jack Miller, 18th in qualification, 15th in the Sprint: “Not been the weekend we wanted so far. The pace is not that bad and things are not terrible but we’re just missing a bit: myself, the bike and that final edge. I’m really fast in sectors two and four but struggling in the first and third. I don’t quite have the confidence at the moment and we’re playing around to solve it. In the Sprint I lost a few positions at the beginning after an issue with the front ride height device but afterwards my pace was decent and I came back through. I’ll try and get better as a rider and understand what we need to do more.”
Dani Pedrosa, 5th in qualification, 4th in the Sprint: “I’m very satisfied with the race. My start was better than in Jerez and I could go through the first turns in better style. I was in a good place from the beginning and to get up to pace. I was surprised that the first two broke away, but I could increase my speed to Pecco; I just couldn’t overtake him. The only positive part of missing the podium today was that I could study the world champion and how the bike is reacting, and we got some info about that. My team and I are very happy.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Dani’s result was amazing, and it is outstanding what he is doing for us. A pure legend. We are very happy to finish the race so near to the podium. Brad was close to Dani and recovered five positions after a start that wasn’t the best. He made some super-nice moves and there wasn’t any more time to get further forward but, anyway, good results by both guys. With Jack we started the race with another new setting because we still had some trouble during practice, and it took a few laps to understand the bike again and then he found some pace. We have to fix everything so he can be fast in all the sectors and not just two. His front device also didn’t disengage and he did half of the first lap with the front of the bike compressed. Not ideal but we are working as much as we can to help him.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:30.390
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.397
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.436
5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.633
9. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.713
18. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.713 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 19:58.785
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +1.445
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +4.582
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +4.772
5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +4.931
15. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +17.421
