The Red Bull KTM Ajo team arrives at the legendary Assen circuit with the hope, on one side of the box, of leaving as leaders of the Championship, and on the other of finally getting on the podium.
Thanks to his second place in Barcelona, Miguel Oliveira came back to within one point of Francesco Bagnaia and therefore the lead in the Championship. The Portuguese's objective is therefore very simple for this Grand Prix: to take the lead at the end of the race.
However, he knows that he will absolutely have to improve his performance in qualifying, because even if he makes excellent starts, he will not be able to do it every time: “We had two positive results in Mugello and Barcelona, which allowed us to get closer to the lead in the Championship, but it is still very early and we have to take it race by race. The idea is to continue on the same path this weekend, even if there is one important point to improve: qualifying. We can't travel that far on Sunday because it's a risk we can't afford to take. We need to improve our work on Friday and Saturday so that we arrive as prepared as possible on Sunday. Assen is a lot tighter and flowier compared to the circuits we've been to recently, but last year it went well for us. It was here that we fought for victory for the first time, but in the end we finished at the back of the leading group. I hope to be able to get back on the podium and take as many points as possible for the Championship. »
For its part, Brad Binder has been the victim of racing problems since the start of the season. While he was announced as a serious candidate for the title, he is currently only eighth in the Championship. However, the South African continues to remain positive: “I really enjoyed this last week of preparation for the eighth meeting of the season. I also rode for two days, so I'm in great shape. During the last races we suffered from the same problem, which did not allow us to transform our good work throughout the weekend into a better result than sixth in the race. We have finished a lot of races at this place! The aim this weekend is to put this problem behind us in order to improve our results, making Assen a turning point in the season. I want to fight for the best possible places. »
