04.08.2018

Fifth row qualification slot for Smith at Brno as Kornfeil takes Moto3 Pole

QUALIFYING 10th Rd. MotoGP 2018 – Automotodromo Brno (CZE)
Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library

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Red Bull KTM tackled tight qualification times and high summer temperatures at Brno for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and saw Bradley Smith secure 15th position through the Q1 period as Pol Espargaro clocked the 19th best lap-time. In Moto2 Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder qualified on 4th and 7th place while Czech Jakub Kornfeil secured his first ever pole position on home soil.
MotoGP
The enduring and baking European summer remained firmly in place as MotoGP reconvened after a small two week hiatus to attempt the tenth round of nineteen on the 2018 calendar. The wide, quick curves of the Brno Circuit are again the stage for the popular Czech Republic fixture. 
 
Red Bull KTM Factroy Racing Team wheeled out the KTM RC16 for both Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith as the riders attempted to find the best speed, traction and performance for only their second competitive blast around the 5.4km course.
 
Despite a small glitch in FP4 that limited his track time, Smith rode positively to record a circulation that left him in the final spot on the fifth row of the grid. The Brit will now analyse the conditions and climate to identify the best Michelin tyre choice for the 21 lap race on Sunday. Espargaro dropped his chrono effort from FP1 and FP2 on Friday by a second today but was plagued with grip issues and some bad luck on his Qualification run. The Spaniard will line-up on the seventh row.
 
Smith: “I felt good this morning and it was interesting to see that a few people struggled or slowed down in the afternoon while I was able to go a bit faster it shows good potential for tomorrow. FP4 was tricky because I didn't get many laps in and I’m not too sure on the tyre choice for tomorrow. The hard would be a safe option but it is not working so well on our bike at the moment. The soft would be a risk. We will have to wait and see.”
 
Espargaro: “It has not been the best weekend for us so far and it seems in the high temperatures we are not catching the best grip. I didn't make my best lap in the first run in qualifying and then in the second I found traffic so I could not improve the lap-time. Anyway, tomorrow is the race and it looks like the weather will be a bit cooler and we might have more of a chance. We improved by over a second from yesterday and we are trying to find more traction. With a good start we’ll see for the race.”
 
Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “A turbulent start to the second half of the season and with some ups and downs. With Bradley the qualifying position was quite good and better than the last races; we know he can start brilliantly so let’s see where this leads us in the first laps. For Pol we went a bit back and forth with the lap-times but it is important to remember that qualification tyres and speed is one thing at this track; race pace is another. It was particularly obvious here and all weekend we were split between working on one-lap pace and race pace. We’ll see if our compromise is the right one, and we’ll try something else in the warm-up and focus on the tyres as much as possible. This was an area we wanted to look at closely with Bradley in FP4 but unfortunately a technical issue meant we couldn't. I think it won’t be so hot tomorrow so that should be good for us.”
 
Moto2 & Moto3
In Moto2 Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira ended Qualification practice with the 4th fastest lap-time and just two tenths of a second away from Luca Marini’s pole position feat. Promisingly it was the Portuguese’s best Saturday performance on his KTM Moto2 bike since the opening round of the season in Qatar when he also sat on the second row of the grid. Brad Binder was only four hundredths of a second behind in 7th.

Oliveira: "It was a positive qualifying session. Our strategy changed this weekend; we worked to improve the bike for a fast lap. In the end everything went as we had expected, but of course having only five minutes to set a time means that my lap had mistakes and could have been better. Compared to my grid positions from the last few races it is a much better situation. It's my best qualifying result of the season, equaling what we did in Qatar, so we are back on the second row and I hope that this is the beginning of a change and that we can continue in this way. Tomorrow we know that the heat will be a factor that might be decisive. We have a very good pace and I feel comfortable, so we will have to manage the physical side of the race in the best possible way to achieve a good result."
 
KTM filled the first four positions of the Moto3 QP session. Redox PruestelGP’s Jakub Kornfeil sealed pole position on the KTM RC250 GP – his first of the season and indeed his career –- by almost half a second from John McPhee, Marcos Ramirez and Philipp Oettl.

Races: August 5, 2018 – Moto3 11:00 | Moto2 12:20 | MotoGP 14:00

Results Qualifying MotoGP Automotodromo Brno 2018 

1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati, 1:54.689 min
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Yamaha, +0.267 sec
3. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, +0.272
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP), Ducati, +0.349
5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +0.366
KTM
15. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +1.529
19. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.664

Results Qualifying Moto2 Automotodromo Brno 2018 
1. Luca Marini (ITA), Kalex, 2:02.244 min
2. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, +0.115 sec
3. Mattia Pasini (ITA), Kalex, +0.173
4. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.202
5. Marcel Schrötter (GER), Kalex, +0.205
KTM
7. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.249
9. Dominique Aegerter (SUI), KTM, +0.276

Results Qualifying Moto3 Automotodromo Brno 2018 
1. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE), KTM, 2:07.981 min
2. John McPhee (GBR), KTM, +0.419 sec
3. Marcos Ramirez (ESP), KTM, +0.445
4. Philipp Oettl (GER), KTM, +0.464
5. Fabio di Giannantonio (ITA), Honda, +0.492
KTM
7. Gabriel Rodrigo (ESP), KTM, +0.797
19. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +1.728


>> 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
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Images (17)

Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 566 x 2 377 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 264 x 2 176 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 975 x 2 650 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith & Mechanic KTM RC16 Pit Lane Automotodromo Brno 2018
5 184 x 3 456 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith & Staff Pit Box Automotodromo Brno 2018
5 184 x 3 456 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 955 x 2 637 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 426 x 2 281 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro & Mechanics KTM RC16 Pit Box Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 631 x 3 087 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro & Staff Pit Box Automotodromo Brno 2018
5 184 x 3 456 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Miguel Oliveira KTM Moto2 Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 323 x 2 882 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Miguel Oliveira Pit Box Automotodromo Brno 2018
5 472 x 3 648 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Brad Binder KTM Moto2 Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 635 x 2 423 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Brad Binder & Mechanics KTM Moto2 Pit Box Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 665 x 3 110 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library
Jacub Kornfeil KTM RC250 GP Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 928 x 3 280 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Jacub Kornfeil & Team KTM RC250 GP Parc Ferme Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 928 x 3 280 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
John McPhee,  Jacub Kornfeil & Marcos Ramirez Parc Ferme Automotodromo Brno 2018
4 668 x 3 107 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Darryn Binder KTM RC250 GP Automotodromo Brno 2018
3 263 x 2 175 © Marcin Kin / KTM Media Library


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