Miguel Oliveira takes front row spot on Austin Moto3 grid
With the week’s earlier rain subsiding, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders enjoyed a second dry day on the Austin track. The highlight of the day was executed by Miguel Oliveira, who achieved his first front row position of the season with a second place grid spot.
This puts the Portuguese rider among the top three contenders, an accomplishment he had not achieved in the 2014 season. Teammates Brad Binder in eleventh place and Karel Hanika in twentieth will start Sunday’s race from rows four and seven respectively.
The final free practice allowed the Moto3 class riders to lap on dry tarmac for the first time this weekend, a session that saw the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders lapping among the fastest in the class.
Oliveira, the fastest of the team riders, ranked second in the lineup with a 2:16.736 and was followed closely by South African rider Binder, who was ranked fourth with a 2:17.302. Karel Hanika also made progressive steps, climbing up to the fifteenth position with a best lap of 2:18.316.
Later, in the same conditions, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders had trouble to remain in the top group as they had planned to use the early part of qualifying to work on the set up for the race. It was in final outing, with just 10 minutes to go, when Oliveira set his flying lap of 2:15.829 and Binder his at 2:16.735.
At this second round of the year, Oliveira and Binder improved their grid positions over those made at GP of Qatar. The Moto3 race will be the first of the day, beginning at 11:00 AM local time.
44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“Qualifying today went well for us. Right from the morning we felt comfortable with the conditions and the bike.
We found it a little hard to set a fast lap, because we didn’t know which tyre to use until the end of the session. It was a little difficult, but we tried some changes to the bike that worked well.
It’s always good to start on the front row in order to avoid trouble on the first corner. We will try to do it as well as possible.”
Source: Ajo
