Sunshine finally blanketed the 4.4km Jerez layout to illuminate a packed stage for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Dani Pedrosa, on his first wildcard appearance of the current MotoGP season, charged from 16th on the grid to scrap for the podium. He crossed the finish line in 4th, five hundredths of a second away, but was later promoted to his first top three distinction since Valencia 2017. Brad Binder and Jack Miller both fell but the Australian remounted for 14th at a crash-strewn and exciting Gran Premio de España.
For almost forty years Grand Prix racing has lapped the 13 corners of the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto and MotoGP arrived to lay rubber around the course that has become the reference for teams, riders, and fans for a distinct Spanish flavor in the world championship. Round four of 2024 MotoGP began in warm, breezy conditions and with the first streaks of fans littering the stands that filled copiously on Saturday and will conjure the special Jerez atmosphere for race day on Sunday.
Red Bull KTM marked a strong pace on Friday and around a track where both Brad Binder, Jack Miller and test rider Dani Pedrosa enjoyed high levels of competitiveness twelve months previously. Binder headed a long spell of Practice on Friday afternoon and only a crash at Turn 7 while on another ‘flyer’ edged him out of Q2 directly by a tenth of a second. Miller was also incredibly close to the cut as was Pedrosa, who made a mistake at Turn 2. Saturday dawned wet and cool and created different conditions for qualification; the three riders only had the 30-minute FP2 session to fine-tune a wet setup. Brad squeezed out of Q1, and then grabbed 4th on the grid through Q2 by maximizing the medium wet rear tire. Jack couldn’t follow his teammate and had to accept 15th by the end of the session with Pedrosa just behind in 16th.
The Sprint took place over 12 drama-drenched circulations on Saturday afternoon and on virtually dry asphalt plagued by a few damp patches. Jack’s progress was limited by a slow speed fall at Turn 13 on the first lap but he rejoined to make the finish line. Brad pushed his limits inside the top four after a lightning launch and holeshot and tested the limits of traction in his battle for the podium. There were fifteen crashes as the race order changed frequently. Binder was a victim at Turn 5 with two other riders at the same moment, highlighting how the track was still deceptively slick in places. Pedrosa plotted a course through the chaos and attacked in the last two laps to make a bid for 3rd: he was denied by fractions of a second but improved on his Sprint 6th place from 2023. After the race and sanctions for two other riders, Dani was promoted to a historic 3rd.
Dani Pedrosa, 16th in qualification, 3rd in the Sprint: “A hectic race because the track conditions were tricky. It was very easy to hit a damp spot and slide. I stayed very precise and benefitted from all the crashes. I recovered a lot. In the last laps I tried to overtake a few times but I did not know we were fighting for the podium because I could not see my pitboard that well. When I came into the Box I thought it was 6th or 7th! For a moment it looked like we had missed out by half a tenth of a second but the penalties arrived and I’m really happy for the whole team. They deserve it. We didn’t do so well in practice or have a good feeling in the quali so starting from P16 the hopes were lower than for a podium! We will take this great finish today.”
Brad Binder, 4th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “I knew I had good pace, so it was important to cross into Q2 and give it a good go. Conditions were sketchy this morning: it was not really dry or wet! I was happy with 4th and I had a great start in the Sprint but there were more patches than I thought. I went a bit too wide and had to chill out a little bit to figure out where I was going! Unfortunately, when Alex [Marquez] crashed in front of me in Turn 5 I checked-up a bit and hit a wet spot and lost the front. Disappointing to crash because we were in for a good one. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
Jack Miller, 15th in qualification, 14th in the Sprint: “We had an issue at the start and that meant I had to pick the bike up after it was hopping a bit into the last turn as I committed to the line. The guys are having a look at it now. I just tried to circulate and understand more. It’s been one of those runs at the moment. We just need some ‘clean air’ because I think we are really close to something.”
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A real Sprint! Wild West: with a lot of contact, overtaking and crashes. Conditions were obviously not the same as yesterday and the grip level lower and not so consistent. The wind was also a disturbance, so quite a chaos. Brad did great in Q2 and the second row was another for him to make that excellent start. We were fighting for the podium in the Sprint with Brad and Dani finally made it – which is outstanding, especially from that position in the middle of the pack – Jack had some bad luck and hasn’t found the feeling he needs so far. We’ll hope for more tomorrow.”
- From KTM Factory Racing Press Release
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