21.10.2018

Second-best result of the season for Smith in Japan plus first Moto3 podium for Binder

RACE 16th Rd. MotoGP 2018 – Twin Ring Motegi (JAP)
Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Twin Ring Motegi 2018 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library

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Bradley Smith rode his Red Bull KTM RC16 to 12th position around the sun-kissed corners of the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for his second best classification of the 2018 MotoGP campaign. Pol Espargaro was 13th to end seven rounds of injury problems with his first points on the board.
MotoGP
In contrast to Red Bull KTM’s wet debut experience with the hard braking and acceleration of demands of the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 2017, the sixteenth round of the 2018 season took place in sunny and warm conditions in central Japan. Marc Marquez clinched the win and the MotoGP crown but it was a positive weekend of work and achievement for the team as both riders brought home points for the first time since the Grand Prix of Italy at Mugello.
 
Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro launched from the fifth row of the grid with his KTM RC16 for the 24 lap race that begun in the early hours of Sunday morning CET. Both were fixed in the large group disputing lower top ten positions and down to 15th place. 
 
The lap-times were very close and the gap from the leaders to the middle of the pack hovered around the 10-15 second mark for the opening phases of the Grand Prix chase. Smith followed Danilo Petrucci for most of the race and then had to scrap with Hafizh Syahrin. Another position was gained thanks to Andrea Dovizioso’s penultimate lap crash but Smith just lost out to Franco Morbidelli on the last circulation.
 
Espargaro had made the more lively start and was initially on the fringes of the top ten. The Spaniard’s lack of race time was evident once more and he just missed the last few hundredths of a second per lap to remain in contention. Espargaro crossed the line in 13th for his first points in eight races.
 
Smith: “We were fighting for tenth position for quite a long time but in the last eight laps I just seemed to struggle a little bit with the Medium rear with edge-grip and Hafizh could catch me quite easily. I tried a little bit too hard into Turn 11 with Franco and ran wide. A bit frustrating to finish 12th in the end but it is some good points and KTM were strong here, and all weekend. We got some good data because I ran the Medium and Pol the Soft so we can look at the positive and negatives. Now to Phillip Island and last year there was good for us. We were competitive all weekend and it is one of the stronger tracks for us.”
 
Espargaro: “Physically: no excuses, I could finish the race in the points, and for the first time since June. Honestly I am not so happy with the result – the team put in a lot of effort and we wanted to show the progression of the KTM – and we were quite far from the top guys. We chose the Soft tyre for the rear and I think it was a good choice apart from the end. I was recovering my race speed again and it was nice to be back fighting in the points. We’ll look for better at Phillip Island, which is one of my favourite tracks. We need to improve.”
 
Mike Leitner (Team Manager MotoGP): “We have to be happy to have both riders in the points again. Bradley did a solid job and we are happy with his 12th position but his mistake in the hairpin allowed Franco to catch him. He gave his maximum. Pol finished his first race in the points since Assen and after his long rehabilitation. I’m really happy to see him back in the pit after the race with some points and no issues. I think he will be stronger in Phillip Island. We didn't have any technical issues in the race and this shows that we, and everyone at KTM, are working hard and we are getting better and better. Everybody knows that this class is very competitive. We would like to get inside the top ten; that is still a big target this season. Let’s go to Phillip Island and try to get it.”
 
Moto2
Miguel Oliveira scored some important points with 3rd position with the KTM Moto2 bike (retrospectively after Fabio Quartararo’s disqualification) and just ahead of Alex Marquez to keep his hand in the Moto2 title fight with Francesco Bagnaia, who was awarded victory at Motegi. On track Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Oliveira could not close the gap to Lorenzo Baldassarri and collected 16 points to remain 28 adrift of his Italian rival with three rounds and a maximum of 75 points remaining. Teammate Brad Binder was 5th.
 
Oliveira: "I did not expect this result, especially since after the warmup I felt pretty good on the bike; I thought the race pace would be similar and that I could be very competitive in the race. We lost too much rear grip and it was not possible to opt for a better place. Things didn’t work out as I had imagined and I think that over the weekend we paid the price for this being the first time we had ridden here in the dry with this bike. The reality is that over the next few races we have to be up at the front and win races if we want to continue to have the opportunity to fight for the championship. Now we go to Australia, where last year we took the victory, so we will try our best to repeat that result."
 
Moto3
In Moto3 Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Darryn Binder was part of a typical tight and chaotic race and the South African fought with Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Marco Bezzecchi for victory: the top three being decided by only four hundredths of a second at the flag. Binder classified third for his first ever Grand Prix podium appearance. Bezzecchi meanwhile used his KTM RC250 GP to clinch a third win and ninth rostrum of 2018 and narrow the championship tussle with Jorge Martin (DNF in Japan) to just one point.
 
D. Binder: "I'm very happy to have taken my first podium in the World Championship. Of course, I can’t complain about third position, but exiting the last corner I thought I had the victory in the bag -in the end it wasn’t to be. It was a very tough, fiercely contested race. After a season that has been hard for various reasons, in recent races we have made very important progress that has allowed us to be higher up the order -and I am very proud of this. This podium is a reward for our good work. I thank the team and all those who support me for everything."

The Grand Prix of Australia at the fabulous Phillip Island circuit will stage round seventeen of 2018 MotoGP next weekend as the series then moves to Malaysia and back to Europe and Valencia, Spain for the last dates on the calendar.

Next Race: October 28, 2018 – Philip Island (AUS)

Results MotoGP Twin Ring Motegi 2018 
1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda, 42:36.438 min
2. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +1.573 sec
3. Alex Rins (ESP), Suzuki, +1.720
4. Valentino Rossi (ITA), +6.413
5. Alvaro Bautista (ESP), +6.919
KTM
12. Bradley Smith (GBR), KTM, +26.875
13. Pol Espargaro (ESP), KTM, +27.069

Standings MotoGP 2018 after 16 of 19 rounds 
1. Marquez, 296 points (2018 MotoGP World Champion)
2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati, 194
3. Rossi, 185
4. Maverick Vinales (ESP), Yamaha, 155
5. Crutchlow, 148
KTM
16. Espargaro, 35
19. Smith, 23
22. Mika Kallio (FIN), KTM, 6


Results Moto2 Twin Ring Motegi 2018 (revised) 
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Kalex, 41:04.294 min
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA), Kalex, +6.227
3. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +11.553
4. Alex Marquez (ESP), Kalex, +12.053
5. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +12.348

Standings Moto2 2018 after 16 of 19 rounds 
1. Bagnaia (ITA), Kalex, 284 points
2. Oliveira, 247
3. Binder, 168

4. Baldassarri, 152
5. Marquez, 139

Results Moto3 Twin Ring Motegi 2018 
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), KTM, 39:35.653 min
2. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (ITA), Honda, +0.041 sec
3. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.042
4. Dennis Foggia (ITA), KTM, +0.212
5. John McPhee (GBR), KTM, +0.251
KTM
8. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG), KTM, +1.561
10. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE), KTM, +7.965

Standings Moto3 2018 after 16 of 19 rounds 
1. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, 204 points
2. Bezzecchi, 203
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), Honda, 175
4. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Honda, 142
5. Dalla Porta,131 
KTM
7. Rodrigo, 116
8. Kornfeil, 108
9
. Marcos Ramirez (ESP), KTM, 90
10. Andrea Migno (ITA), KTM, 79
19. Binder, 44


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 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 362 x 2 903 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith KTM RC16 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
3 885 x 2 585 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 511 x 3 003 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith & Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
3 757 x 2 501 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Mike Leitner Pit Lane Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 928 x 3 280 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Bradley Smith & Staff KTM RC16 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 773 x 3 177 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Pol Espargaro & Staff KTM RC16 Start Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 672 x 3 110 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Miguel Oliveira KTM Moto2 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
3 826 x 2 546 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Brad Binder KTM Moto2 Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 604 x 3 064 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Miguel Oliveira & Media KTM Moto2 Start Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 289 x 2 855 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Brad Binder & Mechanics KTM Moto2 Start Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 463 x 2 970 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Marco Bezzecchi & Darryn Binder Podium Twin Ring Motegi 2018
5 472 x 3 648 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Marco Bezzecchi Podium Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 523 x 3 107 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Marco Bezzecchi & Team KTM RC250 GP  Parc Ferme Twin Ring Motegi 2018
5 472 x 3 648 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Darryn Binder & Team Parc Ferme Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 959 x 3 268 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Marco Bezzecchi KTM RC250 GP Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 266 x 2 840 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library
Darryn Binder & Marco Bezzecchi KTM RC250 GP Twin Ring Motegi 2018
4 928 x 3 280 © Gold and Goose / KTM Media Library


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