The CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich began in fiery fashion with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing contributing to a tense Sprint and Qualification agenda at the Red Bull Ring. In front of a voluminous attendance at Spielberg Brad Binder was runner-up for his third Sprint podium of the season. Jack Miller rode to a decent 5th.
- Brad Binder celebrates a fresh two-year contract extension with Red Bull KTM by qualifying on the front row of the grid and rushing to an undisputed 2nd spot.
- Jack Miller steers his KTM RC16 to 4th position meaning top-four placings for both riders on the grid for Sunday, and then fights to 5th in the Sprint.
- Moto3™ bragging rights go to Daniel Holgado with the 2nd fastest lap on the KTM RC4 but Deniz Öncü is also on the front row and Jose Rueda makes a Moto3 ‘PB’ with 5th.
- Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta celebrates his third Moto2™ Pole Position and the fourth of his short career in the class.
A massive draw of MotoGP fans waved orange flags and shouted as loud as the bikes themselves for the first serious day of action at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich and the event that draws the 2023 campaign up to the halfway point. The fast, cambered corners of the Red Bull Ring provided the usual short, rapid and intense challenge and with lap-records tumbling already through Practice on Friday.
Red Bull KTM carried home hopes and expectations for Qualification and the first Sprint on Austrian soil. Brad Binder had already made Q2 directly thanks to his top five efforts on Friday and a best lap a second faster than what he managed in 2022. Jack Miller missed out but then triggered the timing beam twice to top Q1 on Saturday to join his teammate. Through the late morning sunshine both Binder and Miller hit low 1-minute 29s – close to the course record – and ended the short and crucial Q2 with Brad in 3rd and Jack 4th for orange on both the first and second rows of the grid. Both were two tenths of a second or less from Pole.
The KTM RC16s were usual quick starters for the 14-lap Sprint and ran 2-3 behind Francesco Bagnaia. Binder kept the world champion close as the duo pulled free. The Aussie battled hard for the podium and made it to the line in 5th while Binder was further up the track and a safe 2nd, collecting 9 championship points for his efforts.
28-laps start from 14.00 CEST on Sunday.
Brad Binder, 3rd in qualification, 2nd in the Sprint: “Very happy with how it turned out. Qualified well and went with the leader but just struggled to make everything stick. I did my best and brought it home in 2nd and now we have this evening and the morning to tweak a few things and find improvements for tomorrow. We’ve made a massive step compared to where we were at this track last season so I have to say big thanks to my team and all the bosses for their continued support.”
Jack Miller, 4th in qualification, 5th in the Sprint: “Not a bad day, not a great day: just a day! The bike worked quite well and we made some steps overnight. We graduated out of Q1 and into Q2 and then putting it on the second row was a bonus. I had a good start but after about five laps I was struggling with drive and was trying to make it up in the braking zones but that pushed up the tire pressure. It was hard to stop after that and I had a few moments locking the thing. We gained a lot of knowledge today about what we can do to try and improve for tomorrow. We got some points on the board and we’re looking forward to having a go again on Sunday.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A good Saturday: both riders in Q2, both on the first two rows and Brad on the front. We were very confident for the Sprint and Brad did a good job to take 2nd but was struggling a little with grip after half-distance so we will look at that for the full race tomorrow and see if he can fight for the win. It was still a nice improvement from 2022. Jack had the same issue and was sliding a lot. He made good progression after yesterday and P5 was a good result. We know he can do better though, and we need to support him to make it.”
Results Qualifying MotoGP CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1.28.539
2. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Aprilia +0.037
3. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.114
4. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.230
Results MotoGP Sprint CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 21:01.844
2. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +2.056
3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +5.045
5. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +11.365
KTM GP Academy
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Daniel Holgado and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü were involved in a duel for Moto3 Pole Position and in a tight and dramatic Q2 session where 13 riders were divided by less than one second in terms of best lap-times. The pair were eventually upended by Collin Veijer by the blink of an eye – 0.057 – but will fill the 2nd and 3rd slots on the front row of the start grid respectively. A decent performance by Öncü’s teammate, Jose Rueda, saw the young Spanish rookie log 5th: a personal best qualification berth and a second row space for Sunday.
Moto2 was in the grip of the usual suspects with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Pedro Acosta flying high at the top of the category rankings during practice. Albert Arenas was also hounding the top five. After the decisive Q2 Acosta bounced back from an early spill to glide to his third Pole Position of the season and second in a row. The championship leader will stare at an empty track from the front row for the seventh time in 2023. Arenas was close to his goal of a prime grid slot and was 0.6 from his teammate, meaning 8th.
Pedro Acosta: “In the end, we have to be happy. In the first run we tried a tire combination that was a bit on the limit but, anyway, we are working super-hard and we’re happy with Pole Position here in the ‘house’ of KTM and Red Bull and with everyone pushing for us.”
Red Bull Ring was the fitting site for the latest instalment of the 2023 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. The first race of two was held on Saturday afternoon and champion Angel Piqueras was denied another win by the efforts of countryman Alvaro Carpe.
Results Qualifying Moto3 CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
1. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna 1:41.486
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.057
3. Deniz Öncü (TUR), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.105
5. Jose Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.309
24. Filippo Farioli (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:43.004 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
1. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:34.040
2. Ai Ogura (JPN) +0.271
3. Celestino Vietti (ITA) +0.405
8. Albert Arenas (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.679
