01.07.2017

Best grid position for Red Bull KTM MotoGP Factory Racing Team at German Grand Prix

QUALIFYING 9th Rd. MotoGP 2017 – Sachsenring (GER)

Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 Sachsenring 2017 © Philip Platzer KTM Media Library

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In the 90th year of the Sachsenring, a little bit more history was made today as Red Bull KTM MotoGP Factory Racing took their best grid position so far with Pol Espargaro brilliantly taking his KTM RC16 from Q1 into Q2, ultimately scoring a superb 7th position. In treacherously wet conditions he steered a perfect lap as the half way point of the project's first season approaches tomorrow. Team mate Bradley Smith took 15th while Finn Mika Kallio, a wild card this weekend, completed the trio in 17th. In Moto2, Miguel Oliveira topped wet qualifying by over a second, but slipped to a still excellent sixth when the track started to dry out in the few last minutes. In Moto3 KTM is again on the front row of the grid with Nicolo Bulega in third making it two KTMs in the first four places.

MotoGP
As the half way point of the season approaches, there were cheers in the KTM MotoGP garage this afternoon as Pol Espargaro dug deep in the first qualifying session to finish inside the all important top two that advance forward into Q2 where the top 12 positions for the grid are decided. At the shortest circuit on the eighteen race calendar, but with brand new grippy tarmac, Espargaro used his KTM to good effect getting 7th and a third row slot for tomorrow's race; the best for the KTM MotoGP project so far.

Bradley Smith also fought well on his No.38 KTM to bag 15th as he learnt things in the wet and dry conditions. He is confident of points tomorrow whatever the weather.

KTM MotoGP Test Rider Mika Kallio made his debut at this track in 2001, also as a wildcard, with the Ajo Motorsport team, starting his career that then saw him win here in 2005 on a 125cc KTM. Over the two days of practice he had a little more horsepower available than twelve years ago to show very strong race pace in the dry practice sessions, only to be baulked in qualifying by another rider. He will start 17th Kallio has already completed tests in Sepang, Doha, Mugello, Le Mans, Jerez, Brno and Barcelona this year. This is the first time the KTM RC16 has been to the Sachsenring.

Espargaro: "A really good day for all at KTM. Superb! In Q1 I think I did the perfect lap: I was really good on that lap, pushing my all getting the lap time to advance to Q2, but in that second session I might have waited a little bit too much at the end to wait for the track to dry a little bit. I think the tyres got a little bit too hot so I couldn't quite make a better lap time, but hey, 7th position here at the Sachsenring in front of all the KTM fans is super nice. Me and all of the team are super happy, but now we've done a good qualifying we must look forward to keep this up for the race as that is the most important part."

Smith: "I am happy as it's my best qualifying with KTM aside from Le Mans, let's say, which is a huge thumbs up for my side of the garage and the KTM team as a whole. We've always struggled a little bit in the rain, but with wet Assen qualifying last week where I was a little bit back, we learnt more this week leading to some changes, and as a result we're moving forward because of that. I am a little disappointed with the last lap in Q1 as I had a small mistake in the fourth sector that cost me the chance to go through, but today was good in general for the team; Mika was flying out there as Pol managed to nail it behind me, but you gotta use what you gotta use and with him in 7th it's great for the whole KTM MotoGP project. Tomorrow we are not yet sure of tyre choices and the way to go, but nevertheless we are figuring a few things out for the warm up in the morning. Overall I'm really pleased as there's been such great progress in the right direction."

Kallio: "It was a good day but still I saw that there was something more that we could do as the feeling was quite good on the wet tyres, improving the lap time, but at the end it wasn't quite enough to beat the other two guys. It was my best lap but there was a little bit of traffic and I lost some time overtaking. That was a shame as there was a chance to be quicker, but as a plus my pace with the wet tyres was good so that's obviously important for the race. Moreover after such a long break from racing I am there able to fight with the guys – for example this morning with the slick tyres it felt good when I was 11th fastest as well as discovering some settings that will be good as well as some good tyres for the race. That now leaves which weather will be best tomorrow? Maybe I have a bit more of a chance in the wet to fight, while on slicks we are not quite as strong turning in the long corners. Overall the team has had a good day, something that I've been part of as test rider."

Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): "In total a very good day. For sure some ups and downs but we are quite competitive in the wet while in the dry we are also there as well. For the tyre choice tomorrow if it is dry will be a quite interesting one but we're not sure of this at the moment. We have different impressions from different riders about this after trying all of the choices but depending on conditions the plan tomorrow morning will be quite a big part of the result, so who makes the correct choice will gain a lot. We will see. We will try our best and use all of the information we have – of course more information than normal – because we have three riders with Mika here. I'm quite positive about it so I'm looking forward to what we can do. Overall it's so nice to have, let's say, a pay back, and have a result like this especially at a race like this in Germany, close to our home and with a big number of KTM fans who are here and appreciate that result with us."

Moto2
Following on from his strong start to the weekend in which he dominated FP1, Miguel Oliveira qualified his KTM Moto2 on the second row. As the rider who is fourth in the title chase continues to spearhead KTM's other new Grand Prix project. With an uncertain weather forecast the Portuguese would prefer it dry. Team mate Brad Binder continues to raise himself higher and higher up the timing sheets towards where he was during his domination of the 2016 Moto3 title, today on the larger Moto2 KTM he was 21st in the damp conditions.

Oliveira: "I'm going to focus on the positive from today, which is that we have improved a lot in wet conditions. We led the way for much of the qualifying session, but then it started to rain and when we went back out on track we gradually lowered our times. I sincerely believe that I lacked a push on my last three laps. At the beginning I had another rider behind me and I didn’t want to give him a tow, and on the last two laps I tried to push my hardest to improve the lap time but it was not possible. In any case, the second row is not bad. Tomorrow we will give everything to have a good race, either in the dry or the wet, and collect another Top 5 finish."

Moto3
In the only dry qualifying session of the day Italian Nicolo Bulega with his SKY Racing Team VR46 took his fourth front row start of the 2017 season while he was chased by Marcos Ramirez's similar KTM that heads the front row.vRed Bull KTM Ajo's Bo Bendsneyder started the weekend in the same direction as Assen last week where he started on the right footing, ultimately qualifying on the third row right behind leading German Philipp Oettl's KTM RC250 GP.

After Niccolo Antonelli had his unlucky crashes last week, the Italian has stood down for this weekend in order to give himself the most amount of time before the next race in five weekend's time. Therefore former World Champion Danny Kent has returned to the Moto3 fold, just as he did at Le Mans earlier this year. He qualified 16th but has to start 28th after a penalty due to riding slowly through three sectors yesterday. Kent won the German Moto3 race here two years ago so knows the circuit and what is needed to battle through to the front.

The Sachsenring circuit has been good to KTM over the years with five victories over the years in 125cc, Moto3 and 250cc, but there has never been repeat winner of a Moto3 race at the Sachsenring since the start of the formula in 2012 so all eyes are on the first race tomorrow.

Bulega: "I'm delighted with this first row, but also for the feeling I have found with my KTM after Assen. I was able to ride as I wanted and I did my best alone. It was a difficult session, track conditions were really insidious but I’m happy. As always for me the start will be crucial, I have to stay focused and give my best."

Bendsneyder: "I am very happy with today. I’m pleased because the time in QP was set riding alone, without catching any slipstream. Also, after setting my fast lap I put in some more 1:27 laps. We have a good feeling for tomorrow's race, so I'm motivated. I also have to say that, bearing in mind how the qualifying session went, I am satisfied with this eighth position. Tomorrow I think the start will be very fast and then the times will fall –a lot more than usual. I'll do my best to try to finish at the front."

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
“You were flying like a crazy one!” exclaimed Can Öncü to his twin brother Deniz Öncü who had just won Race 1 on the KTM RC250 RB at the Sachsenring. Can took third and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup points lead as the 13-year-old Turks were split by 17-year-old German Kevin Orgis on a soaking wet track.

The trio were twenty seconds clear of the opposition headed by 14-year-old Spaniard Adrián Carrasco and 17-year-old Colombian Steward Garcia. Crucially, Aleix Viu, the 16-year-old Spaniard who had led the points table from the first weekend in Jerez, only scored a single point for fifteenth after suffering gearing and vision problems. He now trails Can Öncü by 9 points.

Races: July 2, 2017 – Moto3 11:00 | Moto2 12:20 CET | Moto2 14:00 | Red Bull Rookies Cup 15:30

Results Qualifying MotoGP Sachsenring 2017
1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, 1:27.302 min
2. Danilo Petrucci (ITA), Ducati, +0.160
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP), Honda, +0.647
4. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +0.787
5. Jonas Folger (GER), Yamaha, +0.908
KTM
7. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.100
15. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +0.713 (Q1 time)
17. Mika Kallio (FIN), KTM, +0.983 (Q1 time)

Results Qualifying Moto2 Sachsenring 2017
1. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Kalex, 1:32.159 min
2. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, +0.253 sec
3. Sandro Cortese (GER), Suter, +0.377
4. Mattia Pasini (ITA), Kalex, +0.519
5. Hector Garzo (ESP), Tech 3, +0.588
KTM
6. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.642
21. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +2.031

Results Qualifying Moto3 Sachsenring 2017
1. Aron Canet (ESP), Honda, 1:26.688 min
2. Joan Mir (ESP), Honda, +0.245 sec
3. Nicolo Bulega (ITA), KTM, +0.293
4. Marcos Ramirez (ESP), KTM, +0.498
5. Tony Arbolino (ITA), Honda, +0.540
KTM
7. Philipp Oettl (GER), KTM, +0.596
8. Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, +0.609
16. Dany Kent (GBR), KTM, +0.851 (replacement for injured Niccolo Antonelli)

Results Race 1 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Sachsenring 2017
All riders on KTM RC250 RB bikes
1. Deniz Öncü (TUR), 18:24.616 min (11 laps)
2. Kevin Ogris (GER), +13.438 sec
3. Can Öncü (TUR), +17.904
4. Adrian Carrasco (ESP), +37.940
5. Steward Garcia (COL), +37.965

Standings Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2017 after 5 of 13 races
1. C. Öncü, 82 points
2. Alex Viu (ESP), 73
3. Kazuki Masaki (JAP), 69
4. D. Öncü, 48
5. Rory Skinner (GBR), 43

PHILIPP GRÜNBERGER
PR MANAGER MOTOGP
philipp.gruenberger@ktm.com
0043 664 6217921

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