22/10/2023

Tulovic finishes Australian GP & Binder crashes in disastrous weather conditions

The predicted change in weather on Phillip Island in Australia made for exceedingly treacherous conditions, to which LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Team rider Darryn Binder fell victim. Lukas Tulovic managed to finish the prematurely red-flagged race in 20th place.

The Australian Grand Prix will be remembered. Not because of the exciting race, but much more for what was probably the shortest race of the season. The rain thriller lasted less than half the race distance, with a total of nine riders unable to withstand the adverse conditions. Unfortunately, Darryn Binder also joined this list, although the South African had made a good start from ninth place and held on to eighth place within the first few corners in the thick spray. The 25-year-old only managed to stay on his Kalex for three laps before the fate of the crash caught up with him. Fortunately, he was unhurt and the loss of points was acceptable, as only half the points were awarded due to the shortened race.

Lukas Tulovic also had a crash on Sunday. But he was lucky and was not injured either. The German had his mishap already in the morning warm-up, where he had to adjust to the wet and windy track. In the race, the 23-year-old made a solid start but was unable to build up any confidence in the difficult track conditions. When the race was finally ended early due to the weather conditions, Tulovic found himself in 20th place and was glad to have avoided another crash.

For the Thailand Grand Prix in just a week's time, the chances are good that the sun will shine again and the two LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Team riders will return to full strength and confidence.

Results

Warm-Up
1. Zonta VD GOORBERGH/ NED/ KALEX – 1'45.713
2. Sergio GARCIA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'46.741 (+1.028)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'46.764 (+1.051)
19. Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX – 1'50.814 (+5.101)
22. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – 1'50.975 (+5.262)

Race
1. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – (+15.088)
3. Fermín ALDEGUER/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – (+15.614)
20. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – (1 Lap)
DNF Darryn BINDER / RSA / KALEX

World Championship
1. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / 277
2. Tony ARBOLINO / ITA / 212 (-65)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ 172 (-105)
18. Darryn BINDER / RSA / 31 (-246)
23. Lukas TULOVIC / GER / 12 (-265)

Lukas Tulovic

P20 - (+1 Lap)
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P23 - 12 Points

"I went into warm-up with a good feeling. I was right behind Tony Arbolino, who was very fast today in these conditions and won the race in the end. With him as a reference, I tried to increase my rhythm a bit and unfortunately crashed. In the race, I lacked confidence after I had to absorb a few moments in the sighting lap already. If you don't have confidence in the rain, then things are going to be hopeless. So, I just tried to stay on the bike and finish the race. We'll continue in a week's time, hopefully in better conditions."

Darryn Binder

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P18 - 31 Points

"It's a very disappointing end to a really strong weekend. Everything has built up to this day. Even this morning in warm-up, I felt pretty confident, even though I knew it was going to be a really tricky race in the wet. But I felt good this morning, but when going on the grid, conditions were even worse from the warm-up to the race, so it was clear that it was going to be really tough. My goal was to stick with it at the beginning, to be careful with the tyre warm-up and everything, and to get off to a good start to the race. But unfortunately, on lap two or three the wind caught me in the first corner and the next thing was that the rear broke out and I was flicked off. I couldn't do absolutely anything, which is really disappointing because I felt like I wasn't going to do anything crazy, but it still got me. Anyway, it is what it is and luckily I'm fine, so I'm going into the next round and taking all the positives from this weekend, which was really strong until the race."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"We had a good weekend with Darryn until the race. He made it straight into Q2 and qualified on the third row of the grid. That was a good job from him, as he always felt very comfortable from the beginning. In addition, there was also a change on the bike that appealed to him very much. Therefore, we were very confident for today, even though the weather forecast was devastating. That's why we came to the track in the morning with mixed feelings. The changed schedule, which also included a warm-up, was a help to adapt to the conditions. It was a lottery today because you can be as careful as you want, but if a gust of wind catches you, it's over. In the end, the race was red-flagged. Still, it's a shame that Darryn wasn't there until the end. In such conditions, these things happen, and you have to put them behind you as soon as possible."

Australian GP 2023 – Sunday Moto2

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