11th for Miller in scorching Indonesia MotoGP™ Sprint

MotoGP 2024 - Round 15 of 20, Mandalika Street Circuit – Qualification and Sprint

-Miller sweats out a decent effort to 11 after a multi-rider scrap for the Sprint top ten. The Aussie gains five spots after starting from 16th on the grid
-A six position comeback from P19 to P13 for Binder through the 13-lap Sprint on Saturday afternoon and after a technical glitch in the morning Q1 run
-Jose Antonio Rueda represents the KTM GP Academy with P10 in Moto3™ qualifying as the team also look to more Moto2™ competitiveness with Deniz Öncü setting a marker in 11th after Q2
 
MotoGP first raced in Indonesia in 1996 but the impressive and relatively new expanses of the Mandalika facility brough the series back to Lombok Island for the third year in a row. The track is flat and situated at sea level with 17 corners of varying speed and technical challenges. The surface was reasonably grippy and became faster and less slick with every passing session.
 
Both Binder and Miller worked on set-up configuration on Friday and to maximize turning capability as the MotoGP lap times dipped under the lap record. Eighteen riders were separated by less than one second as the first two rows of the provisional grid on Friday lapped at a pace quicker than the 2023 Pole Position effort.
 
The South African and Australian went into Q1 Saturday morning and Miller placed 6th while Binder was unlucky to suffer a broken rear brake protector that limited his time to set a ‘flyer’ and he was 19th. Getting away from the sixth and seventh rows, Jack made bright progress right away to lunge into the top ten. He almost kept the spot, right on the fridge of Sprint points, until Jorge Martin passed him on the last lap. Brad was also very proactive and was busy in traffic to gather data for the longer race distance on Sunday. He crossed the line in 13th for a Sprint race that was already more than eight seconds faster than 2023.


 
#33 and #43 will reset and go again tomorrow. MotoGP fans can look forward to another 27-lap spectacle from 09.00 CET on Sunday.
 
Jack Miller, 16th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “A solid second day here in Mandalika. The bike was working pretty good, I’m happy enough. I was able to do a decent enough race today from not a great qualifying position. Just lacking performance through the faster corners and everything I’m making up in sectors 1, 3 and 4 I lose there. We have some homework to do to sort that out and hopefully the medium tire will help us tomorrow.”
 
Brad Binder, 19th in qualification, 13th in the Sprint: “Practice was going OK and qualifying really good until a technical problem that put me 19th on the grid. I got an insane start today, so good, but the ride height device didn’t unclip until Turn 11. I lost time but then my lap-times were not bad. We sacrificed too much ground on that first lap. I’ll try and be a bit smarter tomorrow and I think we can achieve a lot more.”
 
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “The Sprint result is not what we expected. Brad could not give everything he wanted in Q1 because of a problem with the rear brake. Anyway, let’s see tomorrow. The long race will be tough for everyone and there might be more possibilities to recover from the back, as we saw with Jack’s good start today. He was in the top ten for a long time and until the last lap. P11 is not our target but we have to accept the circumstances and try to go faster tomorrow.”
 
Indonesia Grand Prix photographs can be found HERE
 
Results Qualifying MotoGP Indonesia Grand Prix 
 
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:29.088
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.535
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +0.583
16. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:30.385 (Q1)
19. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:30.582 (Q1)
21. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS 1:31.086 (Q1)
 
Results MotoGP Sprint Indonesia Grand Prix 
 
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 19:41.354
2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.107
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.701
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +6.210
11. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +9.618
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +11.118
DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS


 
KTM GP Academy
 
Jose Antonio Rueda was just half a second from provisional Moto3 Pole Position on Friday. The Spaniard was part of a top fifteen split by one second as the field looked for tows and the best way to find an advantage around the 17 curves of the Mandalika layout. On Saturday Rueda had to come through Q1 but then constructed a lap good enough for 10th and 0.8 from Pole. The Aragon GP winner will have to serve a Long Lap penalty for slow riding in the race tomorrow. Xabi Zurutuza made his first laps of the Indonesian asphalt and the rookie forged the 23rd best lap to slide into the same position on the grid for 20 laps Sunday morning. He’ll also need to fulfill a Long Lap sanction.


 
In Moto2 Celestino Vietti came to Indonesia flush with confidence after his victory the previous Sunday at Misano. The Italian took his time to find his pace on Friday and ranked behind Deniz Öncü who had recovered from the illness that blunted his challenge in Emilia Romagna. Saturday saw more hot and demanding conditions and through the Q2 dash it was Öncü who had the better grid slot in 11th as the top fifteen were divided by less than half a second at Mandalika. A crash in the first minute of the session meant a hectic chase for Celestino and he couldn’t break the timing beam, having to settle for 18th. Moto2 will rush around the circuit for 22 laps on Sunday.
 
Results Qualifying Moto3 Indonesia Grand Prix
 
1. Ivan Ortola (ESP), KTM 1:37.332
2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.257
3. Taiyo Furusato (JPN) Honda +0.369
5. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +0.513
7. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.746
10. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.858
14. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +1.067
19. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS 1:38.766 (Q1)
23. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +1:39.165 (Q1)
27. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:39.854 (Q1)
 
Results Qualifying Moto2 Indonesia Grand Prix 
 
1. Aron Canet (ESP) 1:33.434
2. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO +0.069
3. Ai Ogura (JPN) +0.070
11. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.405
13. Darryn Binder (RSA)Husqvarna +0.412
16. Senna Agius (AUS)Husqvarna +0.541
18. Celestino Vietti (ITA) Red Bull KTM Ajo
19. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO 1:34.168 (Q1)
 
PRESS CONTACT
 
Sarah Kinrade
PR Manager MotoGP
M: +43 676 7654200
E: Sarah.Kinrade@ktm.com