Miguel Oliveira qualifies sixth at Misano

Miguel Oliveira, with a very good pace, will start tomorrow’s San Marino GP at Misano from the second row in sixth position.

The feelings for Miguel and his teammates in the first FP sessions yesterday were very good, but the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders knew that the level of improvement with the new chassis would increase with further kilometres under their belts.

FP3 served to confirm the good feeling and take another important step forward. Binder, second and 0.026s off the top spot, was among the riders with the best pace. Likewise, Oliveira and Hanika also lowered their times from yesterday, going eighth -1:42.837- and eighteenth -1:43.648-, respectively.

Binder and Oliveira started qualifying at the sharp end of the timesheets, and were prime candidates for pole position throughout the entire session as they led the way at various points. Binder eventually claimed a 1:42.523 lap, just 0.037s off pole. Oliveira was sixth with a 1:43.008 lap, and one of the riders with the best pace when riding alone.

Tomorrow’s race will start at 11:00am local time. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will look to increase the team’s strong Moto3 results from the last three races, which include a win and a podium finish.

44 MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“I am happy because I have a very good race pace with the tyre we will use tomorrow. In the last free practice I had a number of areas for improvement and I succeeded in doing so. I have been very consistent and I think that not improving my time in the QP was down to the conditions. I knew that on the last stint people would improve their times due to slipstreams. I tried to put myself in a good spot, but it was not to be and in the end I was sixth. I will start from the second row of the grid, which is not bad, and I will go on the attack.
I think the group at the front will not be too large, with six or seven bikes, because this is a track that allows you to escape a little. I’ll try to be up there and be prepared for the final laps.”

Source: Ajo