Bradley Smith almost makes Q2 and is only one second from Pole at HomeGP in Austria QUALIFYING 11th Rd. MotoGP 2018 – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg (AUT) MotoGP With Pol Espargaro and Mika Kallio absent through injury it was left to Bradley Smith to set up KTM’s flagship racing machine for one of the fastest circuits on the MotoGP calendar. Changeable conditions made for some complicated work at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg and through the four Free Practice sessions. Smith excelled in the wet and classified second in FP3 on the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike.   #38 set his best lap-time with his second-to-last run in Q1 this afternoon and missed out on his first Q2 appearance by just five hundredths of a second. He beat Valentino Rossi (in 14th) and ended up just a second from World Champion Marc Marquez. His feat was an improvement of almost half a second from 2017.   Smith: “It was frustrating not to get into Q2 and I should have done it on the first flying run but I made a mistake into Turn 4 and then I’m sure 0.05 was about the tyre not accelerating a bit better out of the last corner (on the second run). It is weird to be frustrated in a situation where we are 13th but I feel we had the pace to be in Q2 today. Anyway tomorrow is when it counts and when it’s about points. I had good pace on the Medium tyre in FP4. We’ll try and analyse everything we can for tomorrow when we’ll have another chance. I’m happy we can keep on improving our current bike because that bodes well when the new one comes along. The top ten is possible tomorrow. It will be very close. The start will be everything and tyre choice as well.”   Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “Considering all the pressure and expectation here Bradley is doing an excellent job for us. Having just one rider instead of three does not make it easier for anybody; we miss data and information and especially with quite ‘special’ track conditions in a lot of the sessions. The bike works well here and we are still working on things because some corners are demanding. The track looks quite simple on the map and amazing when you are standing next to it but you have to set up the bike in a particular way. Tyre choice will be a bit of a gamble because nobody could get a lot of experience with the range in all conditions. I don't think we are in a bad spot and we just missed Q2 by a little bit. The dominant feeling is one of positivity and we’ll try to make the most of it tomorrow.”   Moto2 & Moto3 Despite a dramatic collision in Free Practice with Iker Lecuona (in which he was blameless) Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira was in contention for Moto2 Pole Position and finally took second place for his highest Qualification performance of the season so far o nthe KTM Moto2. Teammate Brad Binder, on his 23rd birthday, was eighth fastest. Oliveira: "It's been a difficult weekend due to the weather conditions, so we had very little time to adjust the bike setup for dry conditions. However, from the early stages of qualifying my bike was already performing well. We suffered a bit of sliding coming into the corners, but in the end we were able to set a good lap that allowed us to claim our first front row of the year. We are happy about that! Ahead of tomorrow's race, we first have to analyse qualifying, because as we've only had two dry sessions it will be important to understand who has the best pace. As always, our goal is to fight for the victory and try to make as few mistakes as possible."   Marco Bezzecchi shaded Jorge Martin to obtain his very first Moto3 Pole Position and was ahead of another KTM RC250 GP rider as Albert Arenas filled third place. Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup From his first pole position, Ryusei Yamanaka took a superb first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup win in Austria. The 16-year-old Japanese fought a huge lead pack all through the 17 laps of the Red Bull Ring on his KTM RC250 RB, flashing across the line just ahead of Xavier Artigas, the 15-year-old Spaniard and Cup points leader Can Öncü. Yamanaka: “I tried it a few laps earlier but got in too deep and ran wide, lost the drive on the exit. I knew I could do it again though and not make the mistake. I'm very happy with both my first win and first pole. It was a very hard race all the way, people overtaking at every corner it was very intense. I needed that last lap plan. The bike was very good but I think we can work to make it even better for tomorrow.”    Races: August 12, 2018 – Moto3 11:00 | Moto2 12:20 | MotoGP 14:00 | Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 15:30 CET Results Qualifying MotoGP Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 2018  1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, 1:23.241 min 2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati, +0.002 sec 3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP), Ducati, +0.135 4. Danilo Petrucci (ITA), Ducati, +0.262 5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +0.571 KTM 13. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +1.004 DNS Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM (injured) DNS Mika Kallio (FIN), KTM (injured) Results Qualifying Moto2 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 2018  1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Kalex, 1:29.409 min 2. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.310 sec 3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Speed Up, +0.521 4. Jorge Navarro (ESP), Kalex, +0.562 5. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, +0.649 KTM 8. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.716 Results Qualifying Moto3 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 2018  1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), KTM, 1:38.617 min 2. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, +0.078 sec 3. Albert Arenas (ESP), KTM, +0.638  4. Aaron Canet (ESP), Honda, +0.883 5. Tony Arbolino (ITA), Honda, +0.931 KTM 6. Gabriel Rodrigo (ESP), KTM, +1.259 7. Marcos Ramirez (ESP), KTM, +1.284 8. Philipp Öttl (GER), KTM, +1.405 27. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +5.328 Results Race 1 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 2018 All riders on KTM RC250 RB bikes 1. Ryusei Yamanaka (JAP), 28:46.035 min (17 laps) 2. Xavier Artigas (ESP), +0.129 sec  3. Can Öncü (TUR), +0.314 4. Deniz Öncü (TUR), +0.421 5. Filip Salac (CZE), +0.444   Standings Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2018 after 7 of 12 races 1. C. Öncü, 176 2. D. Öncü, 121 3. Salač, 106 4. Artigas, 99 5. Yamanaka, 95   >> LINK MOTOGP PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRRAY >> LINK MOTO2 PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRARY >> LINK MOTO3 PICTURES KTM MEDIA LIBRARY PHILIPP GRÜNBERGER PR MANAGER MOTOGP philipp.gruenberger@ktm.com 0043 664 6217921 www.motogp.com www.ktm.com | media.ktm.com  Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Instagram