Massive improvement puts Red Bull KTM MotoGP team again in top 12 at Malaysian GP QUALIFYING 17th Rd. MotoGP 2017 – Sepang International Circuit (MAL) MotoGP Scorching temperatures once more were order of the Malaysian MotoGP weekend as the towards the end of qualifying track temperatures were 55 degrees celcius, the hottest of the year, but this did nothing to quell the speed of the KTM RC16 for its qualifying debut at Sepang. One of the best laps ever from Pol Espargaro meant KTM once more leapt from Q1 to Q2 even though he suffered a high speed crash on his last run. He was back in the garage in a matter of minutes before returning to the track for one final run in Q2 but unfortunately couldn’t improve so will start from 12th. His Q1 time was good enough for a spot knocking on the door of another top 10 start. For KTM it is their tenth top 12 grid spot during their debut season in MotoGP.   Team mate Bradley Smith also improved from his pre-season time, by 0.7 seconds, and will start 16th, the Birt losing a little time at the last corner of his fastest lap but confident he can find that time in tomorrow’s race.   All MotoGP teams did a three day test here in early February but since then the RC16 has been developed with many new parts so the 1.14 second improvement in lap time today is on going proof of the commitment of the KTM Motorsport factory in Austria.   Espargaro: “I think here for me it’s not easy here as I’ve struggled quite a lot but today I think I’ve done one of my best laps ever. The bike has improved so much as I took 1.1 seconds off my lap time from the test again going forward to Q2. The crash was very unlucky as I think I could have done a 1m 59s which would’ve been massive for the guys working so hard on this project as it proves the bike is getting better and better. In fact, looking at the ideal time of my best sectors it was a 1m 59.9 so that’s a massive step we’ve made. Physically I’m OK but in these conditions everything is so much harder so I’m lucky not to have any pain. The race is tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it rain or shine.”   Smith: “First and foremost I’m frustrated not to go forward to Q2 as things have gone so well over the last two weekends so to miss out on that was a little annoying as a made a slight mistake at the last corner. Today didn’t quite give me the feeling for one lap but fair play to the guys at the front as a 2m 0.1sec to go through to Q2 is no clowning around so I’m happy with what I was able to do. We’ve made steps forward in FP4 for race pace but this of all tracks is a trade off of braking and also the flowing corners too.”   Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “It wasn’t an easy day but it was a good day with Pol to get through to Q2: A great achievement. This was impressive as we had some problems with set up so it wasn’t an easy weekend by any means but still the final result is great for the team. When we look back at the 2017 test in February it is a big difference and very satisfying to see how the bike has developed so we shall now see how the bike will be when we come back here in February 2018 because that’s not so far away from now. That will be a ‘different bike’ again so I’m curious to see that progress too. Meanwhile, we have the race tomorrow so I mustn’t get ahead of myself.” Moto2 Fresh from their first ever victory in the Moto2 class last weekend in Australia the KTMs today had another stellar day with Miguel Oliveira getting 2nd position on the grid, just 0.026 seconds behind pole position. Again, the new for 2017 KTM Moto2 bike has shown its speed and agility at a race track to which it had never been before. This was backed up by Brad Binder getting 8th place with the sister bike as his return to the sharp end continues after early season injury.  Oliveira: "I felt very good today. I’m very happy with this second position, and with getting back on the front row. I think we can say that we are a little more consistent than at Phillip Island. Tomorrow will be a battle of attrition in a way, because it is very hot, we will lose a lot of grip and it is easy to crash over the course of the race. We will be aware of all these factors and of the weather, which can change at any time; as always we will go out to enjoy ourselves and give everything in the race."   Binder: "Today went much better than yesterday. This morning, from the first stint, we maintained a very steady pace and I felt very strong on the bike. In the afternoon, in qualifying, I felt really good on the bike and everything was very easy. On the last lap I was giving it 110%, but on the first sector I slowed down a little – although I was able to recover and set my best time at the end. I'm happy to be starting from eighth. I would have liked to have started a little further forward, but it's much better than 20th, as I was used to placing this season. We have a very good pace and tomorrow in the race I will try to give my all from the beginning."   Moto3 Bo Bendsneyder had a great day aboard his Red Bull KTM Ajo bike as he sped to the front of the second row for the Malaysian Moto3 Grand Prix. The Dutchman has gone well at this track after finishing on the podium here last year so hopes his run of form continues. The speed of the KTM RC250 GP carried across to his team mate, Niccolo Antonelli who will start 10th. KTM have had four victories in 125cc and Moto3 at Sepang with the Ajo squad having a rider on the Moto3 podium every year since the introduction of the Moto3 class in 2012.   Bendsneyder: "Today's penultimate qualifying session of the year didn’t go perfectly. Yesterday we made some changes to the setup of the bike with QP in mind, and they didn’t worked as well as we had expected. Tomorrow we will fine tune some details. However, we have a good position for tomorrow's race, although we must improve if we want to be up with the front group throughout the race. We will go all out."   Antonelli: "Qualifying here in Sepang went very well. After some QPs that had not gone as we expected, we achieved a good result and the whole team are satisfied with this fourth position. On the last stint I changed a small aspect of my riding and it brought results. I am happy about Saturday, but now we have to focus on being prepared to give a good fight tomorrow. I'm going to fight hard, I'm looking forward to the race." Races: October 29, 2017 – Moto3 12:00 | Moto2 13:20 | MotoGP 15:00 CET Results Qualifying MotoGP Sepang International Circuit 2017  1. Dani Pedrosa (ESP), Honda, 1:59.212 min 2. Johann Zarco (FRA), Yamaha, +0.017 sec 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati, +0.024 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Yamaha, +0.286 5. Maverick Vinales (ESP), Yamaha, +0.326 12. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.558 (Q2) 16. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +1.506 (Q1) Results Qualifying Moto2 Sepang International Circuit 2017 1. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Kalex, 2:06.406 min 2. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.026 sec 3. Fabio Quartarao (FRA), Kalex, +0.072 4. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, +0.105 5. Tom Luethi (SUI), Kalex, +0.187 8. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.503 Results Qualifying Moto3 Sepang International Circuit 2017 1. Joan Mir (ESP), Honda, 2:12.078 min 2. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, +0.379 sec 2. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Honda, +0.738 4. Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, +1.083 5. Gabriel Rodrigo (ESP), KTM, +1.087 10. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA), KTM, +1.341 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