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Moto3 Qatar 1 Warm Up: Darryn Binder confirms before the race

by | March 28, 2021

Darryn Binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40) had to go through Q1, which he flew through, before hitting the nail on the head in Q2 in his final attempt with a time of 2'04.075. The new recruit of the Petronas Sprinta Racing team thus pocketed his second pole after Valencia 2020.

The Malaysian team could almost have scored a double, but that was without counting on an impressive rookie, Izan Guevara (GasGas, Gaviota Aspar Team, #28) who came between his two men. John McPhee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17) could still rejoice in this third place, to the extent that a few seconds later, he did not cross the line to start this last saving lap.

Jeremy Alcove (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #52) will lead the second row, accompanied by Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) and Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27), winner of the 2019 edition, who also concluded the free practice sessions in the lead.

On the third line, we will find Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #2) accompanied by Sergio Garcia (GasGas, Aspar Team Moto3, #11) and Riccardo rossi (KTM, BOE Owlride, #54).

Here is the table that refreshes our memory, before the start of this Warm Up session…

Qatar 1 Moto3™

 2020

2021
FP1

2'05.407 Sergio Garcia

 2'05.809 Pedro Acosta
FP2

2'04.577 Raul Fernandez

 2'04.839 Kaito Toba
FP3

2'05.465 Raul Fernandez

 2'05.064 Sergio Garcia
Q1

2'05.254 Gabriel Rodrigo

 2'04.834 Darryn Binder
Q2

2'04.815 Tatsuki Suzuki

2'04.075 Darryn Binder
Warm Up

2'05.701 Raul Fernandez

 2'07.001 Darryn Binder
Course

Arenas, McPhee, Ogura
All time lap record

2'04.561 Aron Canet 2019

 2'04.075 Darryn Binder

At the start of the afternoon, the air temperature was 27°C and that of the track 36°C, but above all with 34 km/h of wind under this bright sun on this race day.

We're starting to get used to it, the drivers stay in the pit lane and play a game of cat and mouse: who will leave first and let their competitors take their slipstream? Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27) is one of the first to set off, which kicks off this Warm Up session.

During the first lap, several drivers pass through the long lap to test the trajectory. The first time is for the benefit of Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27), a far cry from yesterday's benchmarks with a lap achieved in 2'10.871. Between the warm-up and the strong wind in the straight, not sure that the times will panic during this Warm Up.

After the first round, Jeremy Alcove (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #52) leads in 2'08.993, ahead John McPhee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17) and Maximilian Kofler (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #73).

Filip Salac (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #12) saw his time canceled for having exceeded the limits of the track, just like Peter Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) and Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM, CarXpert PruestlGP, #6). You will have to be careful in the race to avoid penalties.

The times improve from lap to lap, and 5 minutes from the checkered flag, Darryn binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40) leads in 2'07.001, ahead Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16) and Deniz Öncü (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53).

John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17), who was 4th, saw his time canceled for having also exceeded the limits of the track. For comparison, its maximum speed reached during this Warm Up is 263.1 km/h. Compare to Johann Zarco's record in MotoGP yesterday, certainly, with less wind and much more power.

The positions did not change in the top 3 during the last 5 minutes. Darryn binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40) is therefore the fastest in 2'07.001, ahead of Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16) and Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53).

See you at 16 p.m. for the first race of the 2021 season!

Ranking of the Warm Up session of the Qatar Moto3 Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com